

-/: 




•QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS- 

BYW.E.RICE 

Published byGeo.E.Howard- Washington- 



1 



f 



f 



The Feather's 
Practical Squab Book 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



BY W. E. R.ICE 



Published by 

George E. Howard, 

Washington. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

TWO OoDles Received 

AUG 12 1904 

Copyrleht Entry 

CLAS^ CLXXo. Na 

' COPY B I 



!41 



INDE 



PAGE 

Average. Six and One Half to Seven Pairs a Fair 32 

Badly Frightened 13 

Bathing 89 

Begin, How to 14 

Begin, Not Too Young to 19 

Bills, Dark not Desired 40 

Birds, Hardy 59 

Birds Should Be Banded 41 

Breeders, How to Manage Young 14 

Breeders, Select in the Spring 10 

Breeding 8t 

Broom Corn Seed, Do Not Use 21 

Business, Wants to Enter the 27, 55 

Canker and Cholera. Have 16 

Canker, Soft 20 

Canker, What Causes 23 

Care Entirely Different. The 35 

Cholera, A Bad Case of 29 

Circumstances. Depends Upon 45 

Cholera 39 

Cold Climates, Pigeons in 65 

Difference, A Big 41 

Difficulties, One of the 59 

Diseases 96 

Dragoon, The 78 

Duchesse, The 78 

Easy to Tell 44 

Eggs, Has None and Asks Questions 47 

Feed with Care 42 

Feed, Mixed Well Liked 45 

Feeding, Mode of Causing the Trouhle 46 

Feeds and Feeding 84 

Feed Quietly 39 

Fly, The 7:^ 

Fortune in Such Birds if Found 32 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

Freedom Not Advised, Birds' i8 

Going Light. 24 

Heating Question, The 42 

HomingPigeons the Best 46 

Homer, The "]"] 

Homers or Homer-Runt Cross 28 

House, The 6"] 

Inbreeding and Crossing 83 

Information, Seeks More 21 

Inj ured by Fright 11 

Invitation, A Standing 52 

Jumbo Squabs 18 

Kaffir Corn 55 

Keeping Pigeons and Chickens Together, Wants Advise 

as to 29 

Keep Separate 28 

Kill Them Younger 43 

Killing and Dressing 92 

Liberty, Too Much 38 

Lice 100 

Male Birds Larger 39 

Management, Other Details of 89 

Mated, Birds Not 31 

Mated Pair of Birds, What Constitutes a 64 

Mating Birds, etc 57 

Mating Up 81 

Molting, Feeding, etc.. As to 52 

Molting Right, Birds Not 47 

No Facts in the Case 27 

Not Good for Them 41 

Nothing Serious 44 

Observations and Experience, Lessons from 80 

One Dollar per Year 48 

Overcrowded Loft 9 

Pigeons, Can a Woman Succeed with -,8 

Possible Income 12 

Prices, Markets, Expenses, etc 60 

Question, Much Discussed 45 

Rats, To Guard .■^gainst 50 

Record, Keeping a 81 

3 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

Remedies, General 99 

Runt, The 78 

Salt for Pigeons 57 

Salt and Drinking Fountains 49 

Salt, How to Feed 15 . 

Site, The 67 

Spring a Better Time 50 

Squabs Die and Eggs Get Cold 16 

Squabs Die as Soon as Hatched 30 

Squabs Dying 56 

Start, How to. Hours of Work, etc 54 

Start, Time to 59 

Summary toi 

Tail Feathers, Plucking 55 

Trap, A Successful ' 49 

Trouble, Another Party in 62 

Twent_v 43 

Variety Necessary, A 7 

Ventilating the House 42 

Wheat, Too Much 8 

Year, Bad Time of 44 

Years, From Eight to Ten 41 



Introductory. 

Some businesses are attractive simply because they 
are profitable and most of us are willing to engage in 
any honest undertaking which we can successfully man- 
age, if it has nothing more in it to appeal to us than the 
money that can be made thereby. This is true even if 
the business has not a few disagreeable elements in it. 

When, however, a business it not only profitable but 
one in which much pleasure can be found in its pursuit, 
then it becomes doubly attractive. This is peculiarly so 
of the business of raising squabs. 

Any one who has watched a flock of pigeons and 
noted the iridescent loveliness of their beautiful plum- 
age : their graceful flight when on the wing ; and the 
bright, alert look of these splendid creatures, finds daily 
joy in studying them as well as solid satisfaction in 
handling the money they produce when cared for in a 
proper way. 

The pigeon is a sleek bird of much beauty, and is 
interesting in all of its motions. — at its bath, as it dis- 
ports itself in the water, dipping one wing and then the 
other, and submerging the whole body in a grand 
fluttering splash ; then springing a few feet in the air, 
poising itself, and by rapid wing-motion, freeing its 
feathers of all excess of water, and then nestling on the 
ground in the sunshine to dry its plumage. 

The purpose of issuing this book is that I may give 
sound, practical advice in the profitable growing of 
squabs, in which matter I feel that my long and success: 
ful experience warrants me in believing that I can be 
of service. 

Very respectfully, 

William E. Ricb- 



CoPYHiwHTKn HKM 

BY 

GEORGE E. HOWAKD, 
Washington, D. C. 



PART 1. 

Questions and Answers. 

Note. — The following are extracts from a few of the 
many questions tiiat we have received from those who 
are mterested m the breeding of squabs. It will be 
noticed in looking over them how hard it is to give a 
satisfactory answer in many instances. Some of the 
questioners give very meagre details, just noting the 
fact that their birds die, or their birds are sick, and ex- 
pect an intelligent answer, when they should tell ex- 
actly how the birds are handled in their sickness, what 
kinds of grains, grits, stinnilants (if any), the birds are 
allowed in their daily rations. 

All queries have been answered just as completelv as 
the facts in the case would warrant, and while the au- 
thor of this book desires to give all the information pos- 
sible in connection with the squab-breeding business, it 
is necessary that all who read should understand how 
very important it is to go into details when anything is 
wrong in the breeding-pens. 

A VARIETY NECESSARY. 

Q. Will }ou please explain why my pigeons do not 
eat their feed clean, but scatter it about the floor? 

A. To answer this I must first ask some questions 
as other Yankees do. How are you feeding? Cracked 
corn onl\-, or wheat alone, or these two grains mixed? 
Are these grains sweet and wholesome or are they 
musty? If the grains are sound you are keeping them 
on too exclusive a diet and should give them more va- 
riety. Feed millet, Kaffir corn, Canada peas, with the 
wheat and cracked corn regularly and once a week give 
hemp-seed sparingly, and see that the birds are fed only 
what they will eat up clean. If you think your birds 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

do not need a variety, feed yourself on buckwheat cake: 
and Jersey sausage three times a day for only a week, 
then tell me how you would enjoy an invitation to 
breakfast on Jersey sausage and buckwheat cakes. 

However, if you are feeding a sufficient variety ex- 
amine closely to see if the quality is strictly first class 
and see whether they have a full supply of grit, charcoal 
and salt. 

TOO MUCH WHEAT. 

Q. My birds are very loose, making their nest ver\ 
foul, and keeping the floor covered with soft, mushy 
manure. Can you suggest a remedy? 

A. You have not given me very full particulars to 
diagnose your trouble, but my first guess is that you are 
feeding too largely on wheat ; if so, slack up, — but first 
of all thoroughly clean up that pen. You will not enjoy 
the job but it will do the birds good and it will lead to 
being more careful after you know the cause of tht 
trouble. 

After scraping up and removing all filth from nesti 
and floor, mix an ounce of crude carbolic acid and 
powdered lime, and scatter in all cracks and corners and 
damp places and then cover the floor with good, clean 
sand a quarter of an inch deep. Then in feeding use 
only one-tenth of wheat in a ration composed of equal 
parts of cracked corn, peas, Kaffir corn, and millet. Use 
the latter only once a day and give the birds sweet fern 
tincture, a tablespoonful to a gallon of drinking-water 
for two days and the same quantity of tincture of gentian 
once a week (in the drinking-water), and see that the 
birds have free access to a supply of charcoal, finely 
rrushed oyster-shells, and salt. If you have not been giv- 
'ng salt regularly, use it sparingly until the birds become 



The Feather's I'ractical S(iuab Hook. 

accustomed to it, for if they have been denied it they 
would eat it too ^eedily and hurt themselves in con- 
sequence. 

OVERCROWDED LOFT. 

Q. I would be very grateful to you if you would kindly 
tell me why I lose so many squabs during the winter 
months. My losses have been large and I do not know 
the cause. 

A. Like tlie previous patient, you give me very little 
information to give positive reasons for your ill-success, 
but there are several causes for your squabs dying, and 
you may surely depend upon it that the cause is re- 
movable. Let me ask you first how many birds you 
have in a pen — if more than twenty-five pairs in a pen 
eight by ten feet, they are too crowded and this of itself 
would be a sufficient cause. Or you might not have 
sufficient nests — each pair of birds should have two nest- 
ing-places. Second — Do you know positively that your 
birds are all mated? If they are not I can soon explain 
your trouble. Perhaps you have a couple of extra cock- 
birds or two extra hens. If you have such do not ex- 
pect good results, but look for trouble, for if there is 
an extra cock-bird he will spend all the day visiting 
from one nest to another seeking a mate and will some- 
time force his way into a nest and the resulting fight 
is most surely death to the squabs, they often being 
found dead upon the iloor. Likewise an extra hen will 
cause as much mischief, for in such case some cock-bird 
will play Brigham Young and have two wives, when 
there will be as much trouble in the nest as if two wives 
were in the same house anywhere else except among the 
Mormons. If we have not yet touched the trouble let 
me ask you if you ever see any mice in your pens. If 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



so, here is the cause, for mice will cause much mischief 
in the breeding-pens, and I have known instances where 
$50 worth of squabs have been lost in a very short time 
in this way ; the old mice make their nest underneath the 
squabs in the bottoms of it, and by their presence and 
movements scare the old birds, when the squabs die 
from exposure. Pigeons are easily alarmed at any un- 
usual noise, and any movement underneath them, as a 
mouse crawling m, will cause them to instantly leave 
the nest and fear to return. 

Examine closely for mice and clean out all hiding- 
places in vxdiich they might harbor, for if thev once gain 
an entrance to the pens, the warmth of the nests speedily 
attracts them and in the winter season is extremel}' 
gratifying to them and they quickly learn that such a 
place is a snug home, and unless vigorous measures are 
used to exterminate them you will have serious trouble. 

Only a week ago I passed through a pen whose owner 
had lost many squabs by mice. Here I found little 
birds from a few hours to two weeks old lying cold and 
stiff in death. Their crops were all well filled and death 
from exposure was only too evident. An examination 
showed plainly that mice had nested under the squabs, 
voung mice being found snug and warm, and the enter- 
ing of the old mice after dark had scared the old birds 
from the nest, when they were either afraid or unable 
to find the way back and the young birds quickly chilled 
and died. 

SELECT BREEDERS IN THE SPRING. 

0. When is the best time to save young birds for 
breeders, and the best way to take care of them ? And 
should they be kept in a separate house by themselves ? 
Would it make any difference if old birds are kept with 
them? 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

A. April, May, and June are the best months. Every 
week when you visit the house to select the squabs, when 
you find a pair of good size, well feathered, sitting in 
the nest, and from a pair of your best breeders, mark 
them for keeping and let them remain a week or so 
with the old birds until they are noticed to go in and 
out of the fly. Then it is time to take them out, and 
they should at once be removed to a fly by themselves. 

These young birds should be carefully fed just all 
they will clean up and no more. No feed should be per- 
mitted to lay around — using cracked corn, wheat, and 
Kaffir corn, no peas being used in their ration — and see 
that pure water is freely supplied for drinking and 
bathing. 

By all means keep all young biids separated from the 
old birds, for they will thrive and grow better than 
when in a pen with older birds ; for the old birds will 
worry and chase t^^^em about and their growth will be 
stunted. 

INJURED BY FRIGHT. 

Q. Please tell me what is the cause of my young birds 
having lumps on their wings. I have a pen of fine 
young birds, but several have lumps on their wings. 
Can you tell me the cause, so that, if possible, I can 
prevent it in the future? 

A. Your birds, I judge, have not yet become settled 
away, and are probably scared. If you notice every 
time you go near your pen of birds they will all flock 
to the exit-holes. They are afraid you are going to 
catch them again. In crowding about the exits to get 
out, some hurt their wings, which causes the swellings 
you notice. It takes about eight weeks fop. a bird to 
recover from such injury. I have had birds injured in 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

this way, and have tried all remedies but have finally 
come to the conclusion to let Nature take her own course. 
Leave them in the pen, unless the cock-bird or older 
birds chase them around too much, in which case re- 
moval to another place by themselves is advisable. 

Whenever it is necessary to catch any bird, the house 
should be entered quietly, and as soon as inside stand 
perfectly still for half a minute or until the birds get 
settled away ; then quietly approach the bird you want, 
and, holding both hands above the bird, catch the bird 
as it flies up and make your exit as quickly as you can. 

PROBABLY TOO YOUNG. 

Q. Can you tell me why it is that the eggs from my 
young birds do not hatch well, and also why, when 
hatched, the squabs are not well raised? 

A. You must not expect too much from young birds 
just mated. Oftentimes the first pair of eggs do not 
haftch. The young birds do not sit steadily on them and 
they get chilled. The young birds do not attend to 
their duties properly. 

When hatched, the young birds also seem sometimes 
to lack experience, and do not feed the squabs properly, 
and as a consequence, they sufifer and sometimes die. 
If you get squabs enough to pay expenses in three 
months after mating you are doing well, and should be 
perfectly satisfied, and after this the birds will have ac- 
quired sufficient experience and will give you good re- 
turns. 

POSSIBLE INCOME. 

Q. Please inform me how much money I ought to 
make with a flock of five hundred pairs of pigeons. 

A. Out of this number, provided your birds are good, 
vigorous stock and straight Homers, and properly cared 



12 



The Feather's Practical Squa.» Book. 

for, yon ought to market 5,500 squabs in a year. This 
is allowing eleven squabs to each pair of birds, which 
is a fair average. 

In the New York market these birds were worth, ac- 
cording to prices ruling in 1902, an average of sixty 
cents per pair for the whole season, and makes the 
gross receipts $1,650. The expenses of feeding, at, say, 
$1.20 per pair of birds, which according to the present 
prices of grain, amounts to $600, and incidental ex- 
penses would add $50 more, making $650. leaving a 
margin of $1,000 for the time and trouble used in caring 
for them. Of course, to do this the birds must all be 
mated, and good working stock. 

BADLY FRIGHTENED. 

Q. Kindly advise me what is the trouble with my birds. 
I have a new pigeon-house with 100 pairs of birds in 
it, but I can not get them to go in the roost at night. I 
have shut them in for three days at a time, but when 
allowed the freedom of the fly again, they would not 
go to roost in the pen, but stayed out all night in a 
heavy downpour of rain, and next morning looked like 
drowned rats. 

A. Perhaps you have a hundred pairs of wild pig- 
eons, for your flock is evidently badly scared about 
something. Perhaps your birds have been caught and 
reshipped several times, and it takes time to settle a 
flock, which has been handled so much. Every time 
you go among your birds go very quietly,. throw a hand- 
ful of hemp in the feeding-tray, and try to tame them 
down a little. Do all your feeding and watering inside 
the house, allow no one to go with you, and go very 
quietly, making no sudden motions, using a little hemp 
first before you feed. Your flock will come around all 

13 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



right with a Httle patience. By all means seek to quiet 
your birds, and never scare them, using all possible 
gentleness. 

HOW TO BEGIN. 

Q. I am very much interested in pigeons, and will 
be very grateful for a little advice how to start in the 
pigeon business. 

A. My advice is first build a neat house say 10x12 
feet, setting it up on brick piers about a foot from the 
ground, so as to avoid all danger from rats. Make the 
fly of w'wc netting, eight feet high, 10x14 ^eet. 
This will accommodate twenty-five pairs of birds. Make 
nests inside the house a foot square and nine inches 
high, having the bottoms removable for cleaning out. 
Keep sand on the floor about a quarter of an inch thick, 
and use a trav 1x3 feet to feed out of, and get a two- 
gallon stone fountain for drinking-water, a smaller box 
for salt, one for oyster-shells, and one for charcoal. 
Level the ground within the fly, and cover about four 
inches deep with clean, gritty sand — not gravel full of 
stones, but good sand. You are now ready to get birds. 
Get some one who knows how to purchase your stock — 
first-class Homers, if possible — from some reliable 
breeder. Start with, say, five pairs of birds that are 
surely known to be mated, and study these birds until 
you become acquainted with them, and have success- 
fully raised several pairs of squabs, then add five or ten 
more pairs of birds as you prefer, but do not put any 
new birds in the house or fly until they are surely mated. 

HOW TO MANAGE YOUNG BREEDERS. 

Q. Do you allow your young breeders to fly at liberty? 
I mean young stock just weaned which are to be used 

14 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



for breeders, and what percentage of loss ought I to ex- 
pect up to the time they are three months old? 

A. As fast as young birds are taken from the old ones 
put them in a separate pen in which none but young 
ones are kept. Feed tliem in the morning and do not 
let them out of the pen into the fly until noon, at which 
time let them out in fly for exercise. Do this as long 
as you are adding young birds. When no more young 
ones are to be added, let the exit-holes remain open all 
the time. If you find a dumpy bird pluck the tail-quills 
at once and watch them daily so that sickness may not 
get the start, and your losses ought not to exceed five 
per cent. 

HOW TO FEED SALT. 

0. What is the cause of canker? And how shall T 
feed salt? 

A. Canker in old birds generally comes from a cold 
caused bv draught. See that all the cracks are stopped 
up, and canker should not bother you. The question is 
dealt with more fully in another part of the book. As 
to the proper way to feed salt, I will gladly answer. If 
pigeons have not been accustomed to a daily supply feed 
a limited quantity at first — a teaspoonful on a clean 
board — and notice how eagerly the birds will peck every 
particle of it. Feed a little more next day and gradually 
increase the quantity until some is left at night when a 
full supply may be kept before them all the time. A 
small box filled weekly will answer the purpose, but 
should be carefully cleaned out whenever it gets foul. 
Do not use rock salt. I have seen it used with bad re- 
sults. In a certain pen I once saw a large lump of rock 
salt on top of a box filled with sand, and when the birds 
were watered a small quantity of water was dashed on 
the salt, which running down on the salt would make the 



15 



The Feather's Practical vSqiiab Book. 



sand salty, but because the birds could not pick off the 
salt they would gorge themselves with the salty sand 
and soon became in bad condition in consequence, with 
crops filled with sand. My advice is to use fine table 
salt, nothing else, no rock salt — " salt cat " or bag of 
salt soaked in water which soon hardens like rock. I 
know it is much easier to throw in such lumps in the 
pen, but they soon become filthy and the birds do not 
get a regular supply. Salt is essential to the health of 
all living animals, and should be supplied daily as 
needed. 

HAVE CANKER AND CHOLERA. 

Q. My birds are sitting around on the ground, not 
being able to fly, and are dying. Have a running at 
the bill and yellow discharge at the anus. 

A. From the description given your birds were prob- 
ably in bad condition when purchased, and I should 
think they had canker and a touch of the cholera. 

SQUABS DIE AND EGGS GET COLD. 

O. I have four hundred pigeons which I feed well 
and give plenty of wa'ter, but a great many squabs die 
in the nests, or the old birds leave the nest and the eggs 
get cold. I do not think it can be lice, as I spray the 
box with a good lice-killer. The pigeons are shut in 
pens, one twenty-five feet by thirty feet with one hun- 
dred and eighty birds in it. The other is forty feet long 
by twenty feet wide, with an underground passage, so 
that the birds may go from one pen to the other. The 
pens are six feet high. Any information which you can 
give me as to why the squabs die in the nest and why 
the old ones leave the eggs will be thankfully received. 

A. You evidently have not very desirable quarters for 

i6 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

squab breeding. In the first place plug up that tunnel — 
pigeons engaged in the breeding enterprise have no time 
to devote to mining operations and should never be per- 
mitted to go from one pen to another. Do you know 
positively whether all your birds are mated? If not, 
this will explain your trouble. Are there any rats or 
mice in the pens ? The presence of either of these ver- 
min will explain your trouble. 

If you have unmated birds in either pen you must ex- 
pect dead squabs and cold eggs — for a single, extra 
cock-bird unmated will break up a pen of one hundred 
and fifty pairs of breeders, for he will work ten hours a 
day going from nest to nest scrapping with every bird 
he meets and has no tender regard for either squabs or 
eggs. Take him out and keep him out. 

As to mice, examine all nests, especially the high ones, 
and you may find you are raising as many mice as you 
do squabs. You can not raise mice and squabs at the 
same time. A bird will not sit on a nest with a lot of 
mice squirming about beneath her or with the old mice 
running around over the nest. Look out for rats, for 
these vermin, rats and mice, are worse than lice. 

Your houses are large but not in the right shape for 
squab breeding. A house fifty-six feet long by twelve 
feet wide, divided into seven pens, with fifty pairs of 
birds in each pen will accommodate 350 pairs. The 
house must be at least eigliteen inches from the ground 
to prevent rats and mice entering, with a good board 
floor, and a three-foot alley-way on the north side. This 
gives a room 8x9 feet for each breeding-pen. in 
each of these have 120 nests. After preparing your 
house in this shape put only mated birds in each pen 
until each pen is filled. Band each pair of birds and 
keep a careful record of them before putting them in 



17 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

the pen. Go through your tiock in this way and by the 
time you have done it thoroughly you are fairly started 
on the way of squab growing, but be certain that you. 
will not have any success until you do this work. For 
light have two six-light windows in the south side of 
each pen, and tliree six-light windows in the north side. 

JUMBO .SQUABS. 

Q. I understand there are squab breeders who say 
the premium class often weigh eight pounds, and some- 
times nine pounds, and will bring $4 a dozen. I often 
raise them that weigh twelve to fifteen pounds to the 
dozen. I would like to know what class they belong to. 

A. You have evidently large-sized birds, probably 
Runts, for breeders, and ^■our squabs, T should say, be- 
long to the Jumbo class. Squabs that weigh twelve to 
fifteen pounds per dozen are worth, in the New York 
market, $5 a dozen, as a rule. There are very few birds 
going into market that weigh over eight pounds to 
the dozen. 

BIRDS'' FREEDOM NOT ADVISED. 

Q. As compared to the colony confinement plan, what 
do you think of the same arrangement of pens, open- 
ings, feeding, etc.. minus the wired enclosure, where 
conditions for freedom are favorable ? 

A. For raising pigeons for pleasure and with a small 
fiock, there would be, perhaps, no objection to letting 
the birds have their freedom. Losses must be expected 
in such case, from hawks and gunners. If, however, 
one is engaged in the squab business for profit the wired 
fly, so that birds can not escape, is the best arrange- 
ment, for the birds are under the eye of the breeder and 
if anything gets amiss can be easily and quickly at- 

18 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

tended to. Squabs will be regularly fed. for the parent 
birds will receive their feed at regular times. 



NOT TOO YOUNG TO BEGIN. 

Q. I am a boy sixteen years of age, and am fond of 
all kinds of pets, but have never kept pigeons. Do you 
think I could make any money raising squabs? 

A. I can best answer your question by saying I know 
a young man on a farm who began with pigeons when 
just your age, his father furnishing him feed for them 
for one-half the profits. This young man is now a little 
more than twenty-one years old and is said to have 
$i,ooo in bank at mterest as the result of his work. But 
I can not say that you could do so well, and again, you 
might do better, for this young man had some serious 
losses. 

My best advice to you is to begin with a few pairs or 
even one pair, and. if possible, visit some one who has 
been successfvil for several years and if he is willing to 
tell you how he manages you will get valuable sugges- 
tions. If you begin with a single pair of birds keep 
them until they have successfully raised the first pair of 
squabs, and if pleased with the result get a few more 
birds as vour purse will allow. Keep a record of your 
flock and constantly dispose of any that fail to show re- 
sults after a fair trial. Do not get any except pure- 
blood Homers, and be certain they are mated before 
putting them in the breeding-quarters. Any time you 
buy new birds keep them in a separate enclosure until 
mated. 

Attend to your birds personally and see that no musty 
or tainted grains are fed them and only pure, fresh 
water given them. I wish you the best of success. 

19 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



SOFT CANKER. 

Q. I am losing at least fifty per cent of my squabs by 
an ailment not described in any of the books at my com- 
mand, and thus presume upon your time and courtesy 
to see if I can enlighten myself concerning it. When 
from three to six days old they begin to sit with head 
thrown up and back, constantly gaping, inflamed about 
the gills and upper neck, and in most cases a puffing of 
air under the skin about neck and breast. I have never 
yet saved a squab thus affected. Can you enlighten me 
as to cause and remed}? If so, I will be under lasting 
obligations. 

A. This is an excellent description of soft canker. It 
is one of the most dreaded diseases and the hardest to 
cure, most especially in squabs. It is almost invariably 
fed to the squabs by the parents, though they show no 
signs of it. If several pairs of youngster from the same 
pair are so afflicted, kill the old birds, as their time of 
usefulness has passed. There is no known preventive, 
for nest after nest will produce squabs with this ailment. 
I had a pair of fancy birds which died. I took their 
eggs and put them under Homing Pigeons, putting the 
Homers' eggs under the fancy birds. The result was 
the Homers raised the fancy birds, but the Homer 
squabs died with canker. It appears among all kinds 
of birds and in the best-regulated lofts. It will be noticed 
that the throat is closed with a thick, gummy, yellow 
substance, and when they are fed the solid food sticks 
in the throat while the water goes down. Then there is 
a certain amount of air pumped into their crop so that it 
is puffed. 

The only effective remedy is to clean out the throat 
with a flat stick or ear-swab, and wash it with a solu- 
tion of 5 grains of nitrate of silver to I oz. of water. 



20 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

The throat should be swabbed clear down to the crop, 
when it will be noticed the air will leave the crop and the 
squab will get several good feeds before the throat closes 
again. Do this twice a day, if the bird is worth it; 
otherwise the gain does not pay for the trouble. 

DO NOT USE BROOM-CORN SEED. 

Q. I would be very glad to know if you consider 
broom-corn seed a good food for pigeons. 

A. I do not use broom-corn seed in my pens, because 
I do not like the sharp beard which the seed has. I have 
known some breeders to use the seed but do not know 
whether they continued to use it nor with what success. 
Any bearded grain such as barley, sugar-cane, oats, and 
all others which have beards, or sharp-pointed ends, I 
fear to use on account of the tendency of such grains to 
make sore mouths and consequently more liability to 
canker. 

SEEKS MORE INFORMATION. 

Q. A breeder who read an able article on squabs writes 
to elicit more information. 

A. 1st. Regarding roosts : I do not allow a perch or 
roosting-place inside, but let all the birds use the nest- 
ing-places for roosting. Each of my rooms has 120 
nesting-places twelve inches square and nine inches high, 
and the birds invariably roost in these. In the fly I have 
nothing to obstruct the flight of the birds, everything 
being entirely clear from exit to end of fly, nothing 
across against which the birds might strike in their 
flight. But on each side of fly there is a six-inch board 
on which pigeons may alight. This board is four feet 
from ground, the fly being thirty-two feet in length and 
these boards running the entire length." 

2nd. If squabs are raised for breeders do they have to 

21 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



roost outside all the time, or do they sit in nest-boxes 
until old enough to hatch? 

My practice in raising squabs for breeders is as 
follows: Every Thursday is killing-day at my place. 
In the morning I personally go through my house and 
select all fit for market and if I find a pair of extra-fine 
birds from a good pair of breeders, (and this is the only 
kind 1 save,) I leave them in the nests until they are 
about five weeks old or as soon as they are able to fly 
out the exit-hole. Then I remove them to a separate 
house kept for the sole purpose of raising young birds 
and in which they are kept until they are mated. I al- 
wavs allow young birds to select their mates instead of 
picking out two birds and putting them in mating-boxes 
until mated, as I get better results when left to their 
own choice. 

3rd. Breeder further questions as to whether it would 
not be well to lay a double floor with wire netting be- 
tween to exclude mice. 

I use best beaded flooring, single thickness, and find 
it entirely satisfactory and free from any trouble of this 
nature, but my houses are on brick piers eighteen inches 
high from the ground. 

4th. He also asks about sheathing walls with paper. 

The north side of my houses is the alley way. I would 
suggest lining this side with paper then sheathing again 
with ten-inch beaded sheathing. This makes a very 
warm wall ; the south side I do not regard as neces- 
sary to be sheathed. 

5th. Respecting his suggestion as to using nest-pans, 
I consider them very good and use them in all my 
houses, and respecting the use of pine needles, — I would 
advise their use where they can be easily obtained, and 
would certainl} use them if I could get them. 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

6th. As to windows ahout which he further asks — I 
would say I have ten six-Hght sUding windows to ten 
by twelve Hghts in south side of each pen. These are 
fifteen inches from the Hoor and can be opened to any 
desired width for purposes of airing. From the tone of 
his communication and his statement as to previous 
losses in the pigeon business I am afraid he is not verv 
practical and I extend to him an invitation to cross the 
Delaware Bay and visit my place and I shall be pleased 
to give him my personal guidance in looking over my 
plant and may be able to give him valuable pointers. 

WHAT CAUSES CANKER. 

O. Can you tell the cause and remedy for " canker " 
in squabs. 

A. Your question is a very difficult one to answer. 
There are various kinds of canker and perhaps various 
causes for same Sometimes inbreding, which tends to 
i-educe vitality, renders the birds more susceptible to 
the disease. If there is any taint of canker in old birds 
I thmk it can very easily cause infection. 

Examine all }()ur birds thoroughly and if anv are 
found with a lump in mouth' or throat, remove such 
growth with a small stick or match-stick, being verv 
careful not to draw blood, and then treat as mentioned 
below. Besides the lumpy canker, the disease some- 
times manifests itself in a spongy or " cheesv " form 
called soft canker. When any accumulation of this 
nature is noticed inside the mouth and around the bill, 
procure a swab and using pure, clean water thoroughly 
cleanse the mouth. Now take a piece of blue-stone the 
size of a chestnut, put it in a four-ounce bottle of water, 
letting it thoroughly dissolve, and with a camel's-hair 
brush apply the solution to the parts affected, first care- 
fully scraping off any portion of cankerous growth 

23 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

which may not have been dislodged by the swabbing. 
Repeat daily until bird is cured and treat squabs in 
same* way. 

If the old bird is so cankered as to breathe with much 
difficulty, my advice is to destroy such bird at once. If 
your squabs have hard lumps in throat, do not try to 
save them, as it is almost always futile. Destroy them 
and if you have cured the old birds, let them breed again : 
but if they continue to give cankerous squabs you had 
better destroy them. If the old birds have no cankers, 
and their squabs have, perhaps you may have had 
draught in your house, or the nest is near the exit-holes, 
which may chill the squabs and render them more sus- 
ceptible to the disease, especially if at the same time the 
feed or water should be impure. I think canker is some- 
what akin to diphtheria and many things may contribute 
to its growth. 

See that your birds get pure food, clean water, plenty 
of salt, oyster-shells, charcoal, and full supply of clean 
grit, and feed with regularity, keeping your houses well 
cleaned weekly and at each cleaning use powdered lime 
and carbolic acid, scattered in edges of nests and on the 
floor. 

If you are in the squab business for a living, it might 
pay you to pay me a visit some time. I might be able to 
show you something, and might learn something from 
you. 

PIGEONS GOING LIGHT. 

Q. My trouble is pigeons " going light." I have all 
Homers and Dragoons, and a cross from Hennies, 
Runts, and Mondaines. I have a new house, 12 feet 
wide, 48 feet long, and 16 feet high in front with two 
stories, the upper for breeding, and lower (7 feet high 
with open front) for feeding and watering, and have 

24 




RED CHECK HOMER. 



25 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

ground floor. Am feeding screenings, cracked corn, 
millet, Canada peas, and hemp-seed twice a week spar- 
ingly. Give them drinking-water in fountain three times 
daily, and tubs for bathing purposes which are emptied 
as soon as used. Have two inches of sand on floor of 
breeding-pen. 

A. Stop feeding screenings. I consider them unsafe 
because they consist mainly of shriveled grains and seeds 
of weeds. In place of screenings use pure red wheat 
that has not been sunburnt and such only as millers buy 
for grinding into flour. 

Feed according to directions which you will find under 
head of feeding, and if your birds are from young, vig- 
orous stock and not inbred and have full supply of salt, 
oyster-shells, charcoal, and grit and are well cared for 
they ought not to go light ; but if the birds are getting 
old, and have been bred continuously for several years, 
the best remedy is to get new stock. Perhaps you have an 
extra cock-bird in your pen ; if so such bird will drive a 
hen when the other cock-bird is also driving, and as a 
consequence the hen is not given time to feed properly. 

Go through your pens and remove every unmated 
bird of either sex, leaving nothing but mates. As soon 
as you discover a bird " going light " catch the bird and 
holding it flrmly in one hand grasp all the tail-feathers 
firmly with the other and with a sudden jerk pull all the 
tail-quills at one motion — never pull out one feath- 
er at a time — by doing this when it first makes 
its appearance you can save nine birds out of ten. 
If you allow the trouble to run for a week without at- 
tention it is difficult to save such bird. Get ten cents' 
worth of pure cod liver oil and three cents' worth of 
creosote, mix well and use an ordinary dropper ; fill it, 
and opening the bird's bill administer the contents, giv- 

26 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

ing the dose twice daily for four or five days. Give 
compound tincture of gentian about three times a month, 
— a tablespoonful to a gallon of drinking-water. Gentian 
is a good tonic and serves to keep the birds in good 
health. Remove all birds that are in bad condition to 
a temporary hospital until thoroughly cured. 

NO FACTS IN THE CASE. 

Q. Will you kindly let me know what the disease was 
that got into my flock of Homing Pigeons and killed 
them all ; and what to do to kill it out ? Before one 
would die it would lose the use of its legs and feet, get 
droopy, tumble forward, and die. 

A. What will we do with such questions? Lose the 
use of its legs, get droopy, tumble forward and die. 
I never saw a sick bird that was not droopy, and when 
they die they always tumble forward or some other way. 
Nothing is said as to how long the birds are sick, whether 
they have symptoms of cholera, go light, or some other 
ailment. Nothing is said about how the birds were fed, 
or where they obtained water, whether they were ever 
given any stimulants or oyster-shells, salt, charcoal, etc., 
whether the flies were kept clean and sanded, and many 
other things which should have been mentioned if an 
intelligent answer was expected. 

Clean out the houses thoroughly, fumigate with plenty 
of crude carbolic acid and air-slacked lime, dig up the 
flies, or any other ground where the flock of birds were, 
and give that a thorough coat of the same acid and lime, 
and with proper attention birds should do all right in 
such a place provided the houses are arranged for the 
purpose. 

WANTS TO ENTER THE BUSINESS. 

Q. I want to start in the business of raising squab» 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

for market. Can you tell me if it will be profitable and 
whether the squabs should be dressed or sold alive ? 

A. My advice to a beginner invariably is to start with 
a few pairs of first-class birds, well mated, and after a 
few months' experience if you learn how to feed and 
manage them you can safely enlarge your flock by 
further purchases. As to the profits — they will depend 
entirely upon the management — if the birds are well 
housed and properly fed they will yield a profit. 

New York markets require the squabs dressed ; Bos- 
ton will take them bled only ; Baltimore takes them alive. 
I am unacquainted with the Western markets, but you 
can easily inquire at your nearest large city. 

KEEP SEPARATE. 

O. Will you inform me if I can successfully raise fancy 
pigeons in a loft occupied by Homers for squab breeding 
without their interfering with each other? 

A. My advice is not to mingle fancy birds with Hom- 
ers. If you want to raise fancy birds keep them separate. 
If you wish to raise squabs from Homers keep them 
separate and you will have better results, for there would 
doubtless be more or less mixing of breeds if kept to- 
gether. 

HOMERS OR HOMER-RUNT CROSS. 

Q. Will you kindly tell me when Homers are through 
molting and if then is a good time to start in with a 
flock of squab breeders? Are Homers or Homer-Runt 
crosses considered best for squab breeders ? 

A. As to molting the best answer is that birds are 
done molting when they get a full new coat of feathers, 
and this varies with the season and condition of the 
birds ; the season is generally August and September, 
but individual birds may not get through until middle 
of October and I have known birds to molt in December. 

28 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

After the molting-season is a better time to buy than at 
the beg-inning. As to the variety, my preference if for 
straight Homers although I have a few Homers and 
Dragoons crossed. No improvement is made by cross- 
ing with Runt blood. The Runt is too slow and lazy and 
few squabs are the result. 

WANTS ADVICE AS TO KEEPING PIGEONS AND CHICKENS 
TOGETHER. 

Q. My idea is to build a house about 8x8 feet, with 
an open-front shed to the west. This building is to be 
14 feet high in front and 12 feet high back, facing south, 
the downstairs to be used for chickens and upstairs for 
pigeons — with a covered rim 25 feet deep for a fly. 
Now what I should like to know is whether the pigeons 
and chickens are likely to get along together. I suggest 
this arrangement because my room is cramped and I 
want to keep both. 

A. Keeping pigeons and chickens together I regard 
as risky on account of lice. If the henhouse is kept 
thoroughly clean with carbolic acid and dry lime plenti- 
fully useiJ. the lice may not be troublesome, but constant 
watching must be given, especially during hot weather 
or the lice will soon boss the situation. In one week's 
time lice can gain the upper hand and cause infinite 
trouble. Lice can be kept down much more easily in a 
pigeon loft used for pigeons alone than where pigeons 
and chickens are kept in same building. In a house 8x8 
feet >'OU must not keep more than twenty-five pairs of 
birds, and be sure that each pair is mated before being 
placed in the loft or you will have trouble all the time. 

A BAD CASE OF CHOLERA. 

Q. I have a flock of about seventy-five pairs of pig- 
eons and have lost nearly half of them in a week's time. 



29 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

They have diarrhea of a green color and watery. They 
seem all right one day and the next morning are dead. I 
have cut open several birds to see what the ailment is 
and found the lining of the gizzard of a dark green color. 
Could you tell me what it might be and a remedy? I 
had intended buying stock for squab raising. How long 
would I have to wait, and what would I have to do before 
I put any birds in the house where the sickness is ? 

A. From the description given you have a serious case 
of the cholera. Before placing any birds in the infected 
house, clean all the nests, floors, and all corners, scrap- 
ing everything thoroughl}-. L'se a peck of air-slacked 
lime and about 15 cents' worth of crude carbolic acid 
well mixed together. Sprinkle the mixture on the floor, 
in nests and all cracks, going over all thoroughly. If 
this is well done I would not hesitate to place birds in 
the same enclosure again. Of course, you understand 
the fly should have equally as good attention as the 
house. About two inches of the soil should be removed 
and fresh sand brought in to fill up, sprinkling well with 
the carbolated lime before sanding. 

SQUABS DIE AS SOON AS HATCHED. 

0. I have twelve pairs of pigeons and am feeding one 
part of cracked corn and two parts of wheat with an 
occasional feed of Kafiir corn, hemp, and crushed Cana- 
da peas. My trouble is that the squabs die before a day 
(-1(1. Have had hatch after hatch result in this way. Can 
you tell me what is the matter? And how often should 
I use a " salt cat "? 

A. In carefully considering your letter, I should say 
you must be careful to let Nature take her course in 
reference to hatching. The eggs after pipping must 
under no circumstances be touched, nor the squabs when 



30 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



hatched. I have known persons to enter a house and 
noticing a sfjuab hatching, take the egg and try to help 
the squab out of the shell. This is all wrong. Do not 
touch the egg or young, for Nature may be trusted to 
attend to her part in the affair and death will almost 
invariably be caused b\- the meddler who may think he 
can improve on Nature's method. Your method of feed- 
ing is faulty. Too much wheat entirely, wdiich causes 
looseness of bowels. Do not attempt to handle the eggs 
or young when hatching. As to the " salt cat ", if you 
use it at all keep it constantly before them : otherwise 
the birds will gorge th.emselves to their injury. 

BIRDS NOT MATED. 

O. In a house 24x12 feet I have three hundred 
6irds and am not getting as many squabs as I think I 
ought and am not sure that my birds are all mated, and 
would like vour advice as to the best plan to get them 
mated. 

A. In mating birds to the best satisfaction two persons 
are necessary. Just as soon as a pair is noticed driving, 
let one person keep his eye on the hen and the other 
select the cock-bird, and, keeping the birds in sight, let 
one use a small net such as is used for landing fish, but 
preferably larger, and entering the pen catch the bird 
he has already selected, when the other one may be 
pointed out by the assistant and caught. These birds 
should be placed in a separate enclosure, and the whole 
flock gone through in the same manner. After all 
mated birds are thus penned together count what cock- 
birds and also hens are left. If there are more of one 
sex than the othep. buy a few more of the needed sex to 
even up and let them mate up before being placed with 
the mated pairs. By all means never allow an extra bird 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

of either sex among your breeders or you will have 
trouble all the time. If the birds you catch have squabs 
or eggs, put the squabs under other birds to rear, and 
put the eggs in other nests if there are nests with only 
one egg in, otherwise break them, as you had better lose 
eggs in this way than to contmue with a lot of unmated 
birds. 

SIX AND ONE-HALF TO SEVEN PAIRS A FAIR AVERAGE. 

Q. What numbers of pairs of squabs is a fair aver- 
age for each pair of breeders to produce, annually ? 

A. From six and one-half to seven pairs of squabs 
are a fair average for a flock consisting of from one 
hundred to five hundred pairs. Smaller flocks, care- 
fully culled and mated, may average from eight to 
ten pairs. 

A FORTUNE IN SUCH BIRDS IF FOUND. 

Q. Have you for sale one hundred pairs or more 
Homers, twelve to eighteen months old, in prime con- 
dition, mated and guaranteed to produce nine to ten 
pairs per year, weighing ten pounds to a dozen at four 
weeks old? White-meat squabs only. 

A. It would take me a good while to answer just as I 
would like to. In the first place, if any man had a large 
flock of birds that would produce nine to ten pairs of 
squabs per year he would have a fortune. I think from 
your letter you have been reading the stuff from some 
of the get-rich-quick squab companies, which I do not 
take a particle of stock in, although you might give them 
a chance to prove what they say. 

I have bred Homing Pigeons for sjquab breeding for 
the last eight years, and out of six hundred or more 
pairs (and as fine as can be bought) my birds average 



32 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

me about six pairs of marketable squabs per year to each 
pair, an average of eight pounds to the dozen. 

If you get a lot of birds, preserve this letter and see 
how near right I am, and if you get a lot of the truck 
and trash scraped up from Southern points, and sold 
through agents, you will have a job meeting expenses. 

If you get together a nice flock of Homing Pigeons 
that will average you, say four pairs of squabs per year, 
you can clear $i per pair on each pair of old birds. It 
costs $1 per year to feed each pair. During the winter 
of 1903, squabs cleared 80 cents per pair, the prices 
gradually dropping to 54 cents per pair. Say the average 
price is 60 cents, four pairs would be $2.40, the feed 
would be $1, other expenses 20 cents, which would leave 
you at least $1.20 profit per pair. I always say $1 per 
year clear is a sound conservative estimate, and there 
are a great, many who are practical breeders who will 
agree with me. 

If I had a lot of birds and every pair would breed me 
eight pairs of eight-pound squabs per year, no man 
could buy them at $10 per pair ; but I have not. neither 
has any other man. I have visited every coop of any 
consequence around this section, but have not found any 
such birds as you speak of in your letter, yet agents of 
the Boston concern have bought birds right here in 
Bridgeton. Of course, they get hold of some good birds 
and a whole lot of mighty poor ones. 

Take the business just as it is, I think you will agree 
with me, considering the expense, it is about as good 
an investment as you will find. 

It would cost you $1,250 to erect suitable houses, and 
furnish them with five hundred pairs of good birds. If 

you got good mated birds, being careful where you 



33 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



bought them, you should, after the first few weeks, re- 
ceive at least $500 profit per year from your investment, 
which is $1 per year, and I will venture this is as good as 
the majority of breeders are doing. Of course, there are 
some exceptions, but as I say, this is conservative. Some, 
like myself, for example, who have saved youngsters 
from their best working birds, and careful that every 
pair are mated before they are put in the breeding-pens 
are doing a little better than that ; but do not expect any 
profit with a lot of mixed birds, not knowing how many 
are mated or anything about them. As your birds mate, 
catch and band them, and put them in a breeding-pen, 
after you have made a record of them. I have bands 
made with my initial on them, and numbered from one 
up as far as you want to go. If birds are banded when 
I get any new ones I use the bands they already have on ; 
if not, I use one of my own, as follows : R 765 Red Chk. 
cock ; R 642 Blue hen. This denotes that this pair is 
mated. 

One more thing in your letter I want to speak of is 
where you call for white-meat squabs only. You will 
find after you have been in the business awhile it will 
rest with you almost entirely whether or not you will 
market all white squabs. Of course, it is necessary to 
have the right kind of stock to get white-meated squabs, 
but your feed will have almost as much to do with the 
color of the squabs as the birds themselves, and if you 
do not run into any more serious snags than a dark- 
meated squab once in awhile, just shake hands with your- 
self, and think you are in luck. 

Seventy-five per cent of squabs go in New York at 
six to seven pounds per dozen ; twenty per cent at eight 
pounds per dozen ; five per cent at nine to ten pounds per 
dozen. Ten-pound squabs are quoted at $4.10; eight- 



34 



TJie l'eatli«-r*s I'ractiial S<iiial) Hook. 

pound. $3-75 ; six and one-half-pound, $2.25, for week 
ending- September 5, 1903. 



THE CARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. 

Q. In Studying the question of squab raising as a busi- 
ness for me to try, I have read your interesting pamphlet, 
issued by the Department of Agriculture, at Washing- 
ten, as Farmer's Bulletin No. 177. I beg leave to ask 
you to do me the favor to reply to my queries and ob- 
servations, as herein set forth. Have you any device 
or mechanical means of closing the window-sashes in 
the living rooms, so that you need not enter such rooms, 
when you would close or open the sashes? If so, please 
describe the same. You speak of whitewashing the 
interior ; that is the usual plan with good poultry keepers, 
but I am thinking another mode is better, that is spray- 
ing the walls with kerosene emulsion with a little carbolic 
acid added to it. Only once in my experience with 
young chickens have I had trouble wath the tiny lice 
that ruin many chicks, if they have the opportunity. 
Whitewash can not easily be made to enter cracks be- 
tween boards and it does not kill lice that may reside 
in such cracks, while by a good spraying-pump or syringe 
the kerosene emulsion of any desired strength can easily 
be made to enter the cracks between boards and touch 
the lice. Moreover, it is more readily and cheaply ap- 
plied than the lime-wash. It could also be applied by 
a flat paint-brush to the nesting-compartments often, 
sav whenever cleaning a nest. Permit me to suggest 
that instead of nailing cleats to the upright boards to 
support the floors of the nesting-compartments, that two 
finishing wire nails be driven through prepared holes in 
uprights and of such length as to allow about three- 



35 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



eighths of an inch of nail to project on each side of the 
board and upon which the floors can rest. Referring to 
whitewash, etc., I am told that one squab raiser in your- 
State has used rooms for fully seven years without 
whitewashing or any other application and cleans the 
quarters only occasionally, a few times per year. T am 
told he has no lice, but I think I can not follow his prac- 
tice. Regular cleaning would be my rule. I clean poul- 
try-houses every week. Do you ever give your pigeons 
any green food? If so, what and when? Would they 
enjoy picking at a suspended cabbage or cut beet? It 
seems to me that a self-feeding box in- the pigeon-room 
would be advisable to contain the mixture of corn, wheat, 
and peas. The birds would always have food and a 
difference in feeding-hours would be avoided and the 
changing seasons and special causes may produce dif- 
ferent hours. I see that you strongly advise buying only 
pure Homer stock ; can you inform me where I can buy 
mated young birds of such stock and at what price? 
Have you such for sale? If you are not selling such. 
what, in your judgment, would be a proper price per 
dozen pairs of such birds? If you hire birds (squabs) 
dressed, how much do you pay per bird for the work ? 
Do you sell the bird droppings or use them for fertiliz- 
ing your garden ? What sort of fertilizer do they make ? 
How many openings for birds do you make to every 
room? I am pleased with your views on certain points 
of the squab business ; they seem so reasonable and cor- 
rect. You advise an alley on one side of the house ; 
some persons dispense with it and gain more space for 
the birds. Please reply soon, if convenient, and fully ; 
and if you think of any advice not given in the Bulletin, 
which you wrote, and on any point I may not have men- 
tioned, please give it. I wish the full benefit of your 



36 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

experience before I start in the business. I hope to soon 
erect the house. 

A. The letter is one where the writer is getting- pigeons 
mixed with chickens. Anyone who undertakes to use 
the same methods to produce squabs as they do spring 
chickens will not succeed. Pigeons do not enjoy a cab- 
bage strung up like a chicken does, and should not be 
allowed such coarse green food. A little tender lettuce 
or pepper-grass is much enjoyed by the old birds. 

The interior should be whitewashed with a small 
amount of carbolic acid in the lime. A sprayer may be 
used if so desired, although a good whitewash-brush 
is more satisfactory. Nails are not the thing to use as 
cleats ; the nests do not slide readily on svich contrivance 
while the cleats are more substantial. 

I know of some breeders who do not clean up their 
houses but once each year, and are said to be successful, 
but as for me I do not care to take the risk with my 
flocks. Clean your houses every two weeks at least ; 
the birds will like it better, so will you. Cut out the 
self-feeder question. See that the birds are fed, twice 
a day, all they will eat up clean, and you will not be 
bothered so much with sick birds. I advise pure Homer 
birds simply because, as a whole, they produce the besv 
squabs and more of them. 

It costs five cents per pair to have the squabs dressed 
and washed ready to pack. You may be able to get it 
done a little cheaper by hiring it done by the hour. The 
droppings may be sold to a Boston man for one cent per 
pound. If used as a fertilizer we understand they must 
be used sparingly to get the best results. Two openings 
are made in each pen. The alley-way is not at all 
necessary, but very convenient for the attendant. 

As for receiving the full benefit of my experience, it 



37 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

makes me smile out loud, when I stop and think of some 
of them. I really do not know how you could get the 
full benefit of it unless I write another book, and that 
would take too long. The best kind of experience, in the 
long run, is bought experience. A person very seldom 
does as another tells him until he runs into the same 
snags himself, and then he repents. Do not get pigeons 
confounded with chickens, the care is entirely different, 
although there is no reason why anyone who can raise 
chickens successfully can not profitably breed pigeons. 

TOO MUCH LIBERTY. 

Q. I have about seventy-five pairs of Homers I keep 
for squab raising only. Will you give me the correct 
way to feed ? My birds have their liberty. What makes 
so many of my 'young squabs die? The old birds will 
not feed them after they get two weeks old. 

A. The trouble with your birds not raising the squabs 
is only because they have too much liberty. If you will 
confine your flock in a fly, say 8 feet high, 25 feet long, 
the width of your house, and are careful to see that there 
are no odd birds in the coop, and will feed them what 
they will eat up clean twice each day, you will probably 
have a greater measure of success. 

Feed the birds sifted cracked corn, Canada feeding 
peas, Kaffir corn, small amount of good wheat (not 
screenings), millet, and such grain as will consitute a 
change. Oats is not recommended on account of the 
sharp hulls, as is sometimes the case with barley. See 
that the birds have a good supply of clean water, changed 
twice each day while the weather is warm. The self- 
feeders are all right to keep salt, charcoal, and oyster- 
shells in, but not for grain. Do not feed outside, it is 
dangerous. A little sour feed does more damage than 
any other one thing a breeder has to contend with. 



3« 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

MALE BIRDS LARGER. 

Q. Kindly let me know how to tell the sex in pigeons 
for sure. The male birds run larger, do they not? Let 
me have what information you can. 

A. There is no way to tell a male bird to an absolute 
certainty, although a male can generally be told by his 
actions? They are larger as a rule, and look masculine 
around the head. Especially is this true of the Homing 
Pigeon. The male drives the female, does the cooing, 
and generally makes the trouble if he hasn't any mate. 

CHOLERA. 

Q. I am losing my birds with some kind of sickness. 
I have lost quite a good many. I think it is cholera. I 
have noticed when I pick one up in my hand the water 
runs out of its mouth and smells very bad. 

A. From the tone of your letter and the description 
you give, your birds have cholera. Give six drops of 
diluted carbolic acid in their drinking-water in the morn- 
ing once, next morning give two tablespoonfuls of gen- 
tian in their water — three times a week of gentian, 
and only one of carbolic acid ; then after this give 
only once a week of gentian. Every morning give a 
good condition powder for one week and then only 
once a week until they get well, one teaspoonful to a 
pair of birds in their feed. Dampen their grain just 
enough to irix with this powder. Don't give bath but 
once a week while sick, and dump the water out as soon 
as the birds get through bathing, so they won't drink 
the dirty water. 

FEED QUIETLY. 

Q. Some pigeons are timid and at feeding-time are 
ifraid to go to the feeding trough amid the rushing and 



39 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

struggling. Would not scattering feed on the floor give 
these timid ones a better chance to eat, since the stronger 
ones eat the choicest feed, leaving the balance for the 
weaker ones ? And may not this explain a cause of birds 
going light ? 

A. The best way to feed birds is in a long trough three 
feet long, a foot wide, with a two-inch strip giving about 
a depth of two inches. When entering the house always 
go as quietly as possible and go to the extreme end of 
the house if a long one, and begin feeding at the end 
coop, feeding in each coop in turn coming toward the 
entrance door. When each coop is fed close the door 
and come out at once and do not again go near the 
house for two hours. Some enter the house in feeding 
and place feed in first coop and then the next, reversing 
the order suggested, and when reaching the opposite 
end and all coops are fed, must retrace and replace each 
coop and scare each pen of birds as he passes. This is 
not the proper way to feed birds. 

DARK BILLS NOT DESIRABLE. 

Q. Do black or dark-colored bills and feet indicate 
that squabs from such parents will be dark? 

A. Dark-billed and dark-footed birds are not desirable 
to breed from, although such birds often throw light- 
colored squabs. I always examine the skin of dark- 
billed birds and if the skin is light I always retain it, 
and if it is dark I reject it. Oftentimes the kind of 
feed has something to do with the color of squabs. 
Too much wheat has a tendency to make dark-skinned 
squabs or too much corn will make a yellow skin. I 
have a pair of coal-black Homers with dark bills and 
legs but of very light skin and these birds throw as 
light-colored squabs as any in my pens. Regarding 



40 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

different colored, whether Red Check, Bkie Check, etc., 
I do not consider the color of the feathers has any- 
thing to do with the color of the skin, but if the skin 
is light colored the squabs are very apt to be so. 

BIRDS SHOULD BE BANDED. 

Q. I have a flock of fifty birds and have lost a number 
and am anxious to know whether they are cocks or hens. 
Please advise me what to do in a case like this so I may 
know what sex to buy to replace the dead ones. 

A. If your birds are not banded, and if you have kept 
no record of your birds the only way to tell is to cut open 
the dead bird, when the sex can easily be determined. 
The best \vay. in putting a pair of birds into a pen. is to 
always band each bird and make a record of them. This 
is the only correct way and when a loss occurs consulting 
the record will immediately tell you which sex is lost. 

FROM EIGHT TO TEN YEARS. 

Q. How long will pigeons breed to good advantage? 

A. I have known a pair of Homers to breed for 
eighteen years when the hen bird died, and the male bird 
lived until he was twenty-two years old. A good pair 
of Homers will breed from eight to ten years with good 
success. 

NOT GOOD FOR THEM. 

Q. Is brewers' grain good feed for pigeons ? 
A. Don't touch it. 

A BIG DIFFERENCE. 

Q. Is there any difference in the quality of the meat 

of squabs? 

A There is a big difference. A squab bred from a 
common bird when killed is generally of poor quality, 

41 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

but ihe Homer squab when killed is always plump aim 
in good condition. Any good judge can pick out the 
best-bred birds every time, and the market to-day calls 
for the best, at best prices. 

FEED WITH CARE. 

Q. Do pigeons need green food ? 

A. No, not necessarily. Only when you can procure 
a nice tender head of lettuce, and not too much of that. 
They enjoy it, and would probably eat too much if 
allowed to. Lawn clippings are very dangerous to feed ; 
birds will gorge and in vomiting it into the squabs kill 
themselves and the squabs also. Do not try it unless 
you are looking for trouble. 

THE HEATING QUESTION. 

O. Is it necessary to have the squab-house heated 
during the winter? 

A. This depends entirely on the location. I only 
know of one squab-house that is heated by steam. It 
is not necessary in South Jersey if the houses are good 
and tight. The only time we use artificial heat is during 
cleaning-out days to keep the house comfortable while 
the birds are outside, and this is only done during ex- 
treme cold weather. 

VENTILATING THE HOUSE. 

Q. How do you provide ventilation in a squab-house ? 
And is it necessary to make colony-houses or one con- 
tinuous house? And do you put wire or boards for the 
partitions ? 

A. If you have the room make the house one con- 
tiuous house, 40 or 80 feet as you like. The partitions 
in the pens are made with solid boards up to peaks, 

42 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

except a two-foot square hole, which is covered with 
wire. Where a long house is used, this provides ventila- 
tion from gable to gable. One window in each end the 
same size as wired holes, which gives plenty of ventila- 
tion through the entire building. Regulate the gable 
windows according to the weather. Close all windows 
and doors in cold weather, and leave the exit holes open 
at all times. 

KILL THEM YOUNGER. 

O. The point uppermost just now is how to keep 
my saucy squabs from flirting out into the fly before 
killing-time ; they are then so hard to catch. 

A. Kill the birds before they get so aged. The> 
should not leave the nest until one month old as a 
rule ; but during the molting period the parent birds 
sometimes neglect the young squabs, which may be 
the cause of their "flirting" out into the fly. You speak 
as though your flies were not erected properly, as you 
say the squabs are hard to catch. This should not 
be so. The fly-outs should not be over eight feet high, 
and you should have a large, deep net to scoop up 
any birds you desire to catch. 

TWENTY. 

Q. How many male birds shall I put with twenty 
females ? 

A. The above question comes, in all probability, from 
a person who has made a study of poultry, but not of 
pigeons. It is not only necessary that the number of 
sex should be equal, but that each male should have a 
mate, same as man and wife. In fact, the person who 
has a good pen of mated birds can study human nature 
in them if he will sit down and watch them a little while 
each da v. 



43 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

NOTHING SERIOUS. 

Q. One of my old birds has a funny bark at times, 
yet otherwise he looks well. Anything- serious ? 

A. No, nothing serious, yet it might prove so if not 
promptly attended to. The bird probably has a slight 
cold. Get a small oil-can, or squirt-can, as some call 
them ; fill it with ordinary kerosene and squirt a couple 
of drops up each side of nostril, open mouth and drop 
a few drops down the throat. 

EASY TO TELL. 

Q. Sometimes I get puzzled for fear I might get an 
old bird for a squab. Is there any sure way to tell them 
apart ? 

A. A person with very limited experience should be 
able to tell the difference between a squab ready to kill 
for market and an old bird simply by looking at them. 
If you can not tell by looks catch the bird ; if it is a 
squab it will likely squeal — altogether a different sound 
from the old birds. Lift up the bird's wing and see if 
it is full of pin-feathers. If so, it is a squab ready to 
kill ; if not. its too old to kill for a squab and you had 
better let it fly. 

BAD TIME OF YEAR. 

Q. I have not many squabs just now. Can you tell 
me why it is ? My birds seem to be all right. 

A. Nothing at all the matter. The old birds just 
now (September) are getting rid of their old feathers 
and getting in a new winter's coat, and are not able to 
furnish squabs while they are passing through this 
trying ordeal. You should give your feathered pets all 



44 



The Featlier's Practical Squab Book. 

the care possible just now. Keep them in good con- 
dition, and as soon as they commence to look slick and 
pretty they will go to work with renewed vigor. 

DEPENDS UPON CI RCL'M STANCES. 

Q. Is it best to let birds i\\ out or keep them 
caged up? 

A. If you are in the business for what there is in it 
keep them under wire. The first pen I got together 
I allowed to fly out, and the consequence was I had 
very few squabs to kill. The same birds kept in a fly 
are doing nicely, and attended strictly to business, and 
raising as many squabs as any pen in the plant. 

MUCH-DISCUSSED QUESTION. 

Q. Is there any danger of overfeeding pigeons? 

A. This is a question that has been discussed in all 
its phases. There is no question but that the birds 
should have all they require, but no more. This is best 
regulated with a No. 3 sugar scoop, which holds three 
pints of feed. Ordinarily, one scoopful will be sufficient 
for twenty-five pairs of birds, although there are times 
when they require a little more or a little less. Watch 
the birds from one feeding to another, and if any grain 
is left worth noticing, cut down the quantity a little. 
Good judgment is necessary to keep the flocks in con- 
dition and fit for work. 

MIXED FEED WELL LIKED. 

Q. Is it well to give my birds mixed feed every meal ? 

A. Yes. Procure a kettle that you can carry about 
comfortably, filled with feed. F"ill it with one scoop 
of cracked corn, one scoop of peas, one scoop of wheat, 
one of Kafiir corn, and repeat until kettle is full. A 



45 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



little millet, rape, or hemp-seed is very much liked by 
the birds and should be fed occasionally. 

MODE OF FEEDING CAUSING THE TROUBLE. 

Q. Can you tell me what the trouble is with my birds ? 
I have two pens, fifty pairs in each pen, and they sit 
around, look dumpy, and almost every day I find any- 
where from two to seven or eight dead. 

A. The above question was sent us to be answered 
without, practically, any information whatever, con- 
sequently we wrote a letter asking- the owner of the 
birds to give us some idea of how his birds were cared 
for. He wrote us further on the subject, telling that 
he fed his birds outside in the fly during the summer 
months, gave them water when their pans were empty, 
and did not know that oyster-shells, grits, charcoal, 
etc., were essential to the birds' health. This lot of 
birds were compelled to eat sour feed or starve. Had 
practically nothing to help them digest it, consequently 
the whole flock has cholera in the worst form. The 
feed should not be allowed to lay out in the warm 
rains to sour. The water should be looked after just 
as carefully as should the feed. Here was just the 
trouble with this fine lot of birds, and it should be a 
note of warning to anyone who feeds their birds out- 
side, or is not careful to see that there is a full supply 
of good, clean water given either in stone jugs or 
galvanized iron fountains. Bath twice each week. 
Other articles in the book give full information on how 
to cure cholera. 

HOMING PIGEONS THE BEST. 

Q. I have a lot of birds of mixed varieties, but am 
going to clean them out and get some good ones. What 



46 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

kind do you recommend as being the best squab 
breeders ? 

A. The Homer is probably the best bird for squab- 
breeding purposes. 

BIRDS NOT MOLTING RIGHT. 

O. What can I do to help my birds molt? They do 
not drop their old feathers right. 

A. You should have commenced on them as soon 
as you noticed they were molting, and given them one- 
quarter hemp-seed twice each week, with one-sixth 
German millet each afternoon feed. The oil in these 
particular grains helps the birds wonderfully. 

HAS NO EGGS AND ASKS QUESTIONS. 

Q. Can you tell me if my birds should be without eggs 
or squabs now while they are molting? I have about 
four hundred pairs of mixed pigeons, and only could 
count four nests with eggs in. They are pretty well 
mated but do not seem to molt out right. 

A. We should say in reply to the above that there 
should be more eggs than the questioner has counted 
in his coops. At this time, the middle of October, birds 
are pretty well through molting and are working very 
well. We speak now of those that have been properly 
cared for during the molting season. Four hundred 
pairs of good, mated Homers should now have, at 
the lowest estimate. 200 nests with eggs in. One thing 
which is very noticeable in the letter is — "They are 
pretty well mated." When we read anything like that 
the inference is drawn that tlie writer does not know 
whether or not half of his birds are mated. The f.rst 
thing to do with the flock would be to catch all the 
mated birds, band them., and put into another breeding 



47 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

pen, after marking down in a book the numbers on the 
bands, so you can tell which are really m.ated. The next 
thing would be to give them some stimulant to help 
them get into condition. The idea that pigeons will 
do well by throwing a little feed in the pens, and giving 
them some water when the fountains run dry is a 
mistake ; it will "not work any better in the pigeon busi- 
ness than any other. The birds must be properly cared 
for. Give this flock two tablespoonfuls of tincture of 
gentian in an eight-quart fountain of water twice each 
week for a month ; give a small quantity of hemp-seed 
twice each week for a month ; feed millet-seed sparinglv 
every night, and yovi will see a change very soon. Canada 
peas, cracked corn, good sound wheat and Kaffir corn 
are good for the birds both morning and evening. 

ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR. 

Q. How much should I clear on pigeons each year? 

A. Depends entirely on how many you keep. Each 
pair of mated birds should clear, at the least calculation, 
$i.oo per year. 

CAN A WOMAN SUCCEED WITH PIGEONS? 

The following letter comes from a lady who, tired of 
indoor life, used what spare cash she had to buy a 
pigeon plant, and shows what a woman can do who 
wants to do, and will not turn away from the duties 
involved in rearing squabs for market : 

Glassboro, N. J., Nov. i. 

My Dear Friends : I am glad I went into the pigeon 
business. Really, I have not been as happy for several 
years. As I said,- the indoor life was fretting me. Now 
I am very fond of these birds, and the house — a home 
of my own, is a pleasure too. 



48 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

I want to thank you for the kind advice which has 
resLihed in my being pleasantly placed and feeling in- 
dependent. I don't like to think of the winter coming, 
but hope to learn how to meet it. 

Yours very truly, 

M. E. R., Glassboro, N. J. 

SALT AND DRINKING-FOUNTAINS. 

Q. Do your birds in some pens pick down all the salt 
from the grit-box as soon as it is filled, in a pile on the 
lloor? Some of mine do. What drinking-fountains do 
}OU really recommend for winter use, and what do they 
cost? 

A. It is well to keep salt before the birds at all times. 
They would not be so apt to spread it about the floor, un- 
less they were hungry for it. In this locality (South 
Jersey) the large stone fountains can be used all the 
year around, if the houses are modern, although a 
number of breeders use the galvanized iron, which can 
be made by any good tinsmith. 

A SUCCESSFUL TRAP. 

Q. I have read on different occasions where rats 
bother, especially during the fall months, which I think 
is due principally to the fact that they are hunting for 
a harbor for the winter. I, like others, have had some 
trouble, and want to tell you how I captured the thief, 
after he had killed one dozen squabs. I tried various 
ways, such as plastering up holes with cement, setting 
wire traps, etc., and thought I had finally driven him 
off ; but the only way to drive them off is to catch them. 
And I soon found it out. when I opened one of my 
houses in the morning and found that a couple of nice 
squabs had been used for a square meal. I took a 
piece of inch mesh wire and made a regular cage about 



49 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

two feet long and one foot wide, then I set it over 
the hole he had made the night before ; it suited me. 
I then got a regular steel trap, did not bait, but set it 
inside my wire cage, and scattered several handfuls of 
loose feathers over it. Of course, Mr. Rat made his 
appearance the next night, expecting some more squabs, 
but in trying to get through the wire he stepped on 
the trap, and the next morning I had Mr. Rat, feathers 
and all. 

A. This is quite an idea, and may be of some value 
to any who are troubled with rats. 

TO GUARD AGAINST RATS. 

Q. How high would you advise me to put a house 
from the ground in order to be absolutely secure 
from rats ? 

A. Do not have the lowest pier less than twelve inches 
from the ground. We know of a house eight inches 
from the ground at the lowest point, where rats got 
started and destroyed a number of squabs before they 
were routed -out. Do not forget that a rat is very cute, 
and hard to catch in a trap, when it once gets a taste of 
a nice, fat squab. Get your house far enough away from 
the ground, and keep it clear. A good rat-dog is a 
good thing to have around, whether you think you need 
it or not. 

SPRING A BETTER TIME. 

Q. Do you consider December a good time to save 
youngsters ? 

A. Not as good as the spring-time, during the natural 
incubation season, although, by giving the youngsters 
good, warm quarters, you could succeed in raising a 
good percentage of what you save. They would not 
be as large nor strong as spring-hatched birds. 



50 







BLUK ClfPX'K HUMKK. 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

A STANDING INVITATION. 

Q. I have been having holes near the floors for my 
birds to use in addition to the holes over the windows, 
but have been losing- some squabs. Do you think the 
bottom holes are responsible for the loss ? 

A. Depends altogether on how you have been losing 
them. If they have been taken by rats or weasels, the 
bottom holes are probably responsible. If you think 
you must have the holes, only use them in one pen, and 
put all your birds with crippled wings in there ; but do 
not have the holes open in all the pens, as it is a 
standing invitation for all kinds of destructive animals 
which could get through' the wire on the flies. If you 
decide to have one pen with bottom holes, have a slide 
to shut them up during the night. 

AS TO MOLTING, FEEDING, ETC. 

Q. I would ask if you will please be kind enough to 
answer a few questions about the Homer, as I am 
contemplating starting in that business sometime in the 
future. I. How many molting days, on an average, 
has a Homer ? 2. What, according to your experience, is 
the best method of feeding and treating a young Homer 
during its first molt? 3. Does a young Homer ten 
months old that has gone through its first molt make as 
strong and good a breeder as a Homer three or four 
months old that has gone through its molt? 4. Do you 
continue breeding during the molting season or do 
you separate the sexes? 5. How soon after molting do 
you let them begin breeding? 6. Do you separate the 
cocks from the hens during the winter months, or do 
you let them breed the best they can during the cold 
weather? 7. Is there any time during the year that you 
separate the sexes? 8. Which makes the stronger 

52 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

breeder ; one hatched in the spring or one hatched later 
in the season ? 

A. I. This is a hard question to answer. No two birds 
molt exactly alike, much depending upon their individual 
condition. This one may finish mblting two weeks ear- 
lier than another. The average may be taken at six 
weeks to two months, though some birds have finished in 
four weeks. Then, again, birds will begin to molt, con- 
tinue for a time, then seem to stop, and afterward begin 
again, thus prolonging the time. 2. I feed my young 
stock exactly the same as any breeding stock and if I 
notice a bird not molting freely I catch that one, and 
pluck all the tail-quills at one pull. 3. Very seldom 
does a Homer molt in two months ; when it occurs I 
should not consider it likely to prevent developing into 
good breeding stock. 4. I continue breeding the whole 
year, including the molting season and don't separate the 
sexes at any time. 5, 6, 7. These questions are so closely 
related to number 4 that one answer really suffices for 
all. I may state further, however, that it is a practice 
among those who keep pigeons for flying purposes to 
separate the sexes during a portion of the year. 

The incubation of pigeons diflfers radically from that 
of poultry. Both the cock and hen take regular turns 
during portions of the day in sitting upon the eggs, 
thus making it much less irksome than when a hen sits 
continually for twenty-one days. 

If a squab breeder should separate his birds in the 
fall of the year and remate them in the spring he would 
need much extra house capacity, and lose much time in 
remating to say nothing of the loss of revenue during 
the time of separation. 8. Squabs hatched out in April, 
May, and June I consider make the best and strongest 
breeders. Seldom do I save any birds during any other 
time than the months mentioned. 



53 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

HOW TO START, HOURS OF WORK, ETC. 

Q. I have been a business man, but am now an invalid 
and must take up outdoor work, both for health and 
income, and propose starting witii a house i6xi2. 
1. Would it be better to start with, say, ten to twenty 
pairs of breeders and breed my own birds, or start with 
full capacity of house and market squabs at once, en- 
larging the house as it becomes necessary? 2. One 
authority states that th»^^ Homers produce all white 
squabs. Is this so? And the same authority estimates 
the cost of feeding a pair of birds at 50 cents, whil ' 
vou give it $1.04. How do you account for the dif- 
ference ? 3. How many hours per week of actual time 
would it take to care for two hundred pairs of breeders, 
pick and market the squabs, and clean the house? 4. Is 
there a market all the year around for squabs, and do 
you think the demand will increase? 

A. I. I would advise starting with a few pairs of 
birds, but be sure that these are first class, and after a 
few months' experience buy other selected stock, and if 
your first birds prove good breeders you may save their 
young in April, May, and June, but don't expect these 
latter to be profitable under a year or you will be dis- 
appointed. 2. All Homers do not produce white squabs. 
You will find some Homers with dark skins and these 
will surely throw dark squabs. Examine your birds 
when buying and reject all dark-skinned birds. My 
figures of $1.04, cost of feeding a pair of birds a year, 
is based on actual experience, taking th'e feed bills for 
a whole year. I can not pay feed bills at the price in 
my section, on a basis of 50 cents per pair a year. 3. Half 
a day ought to be sufficient for a good man to pick and 
market squabs and clean house — two hours for picking 
and three hours to clean. I pay five cents apiece for 
picking squabs. 4. I send squabs every week in the 

54 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

year to the New York market : the prices have been 
better this year than last, and I see no reason why the 
demand should not continue. 



DESIRES TO ENTER THE BUSINESS. 

Q. I am thinking of raising squabs for the local hotel. 
Can get $2.50 per dozen the year around, i. Is there any- 
thing in squab raising at the above price? Of course, 
I would go at it in the right way and give it my personal 
attention. 2. Would you advise me to engage in the 
business to make something? If I could make $600 
a year net I would be satisfied. 

A. I. At $2.50 per dozen the year around, if you suc- 
ceed as well as I have done, your net profits would 
be $1.00. instead of $1.50, which I have been getting. 
¥oT my squabs have averaged me sixty cents for the 
year, while your price as mentioned is a trifle over 
forty cents, or about two-thirds. So if you purchased 
first-class Homers and gave them excellent care your 
income might be at the rate of $1.00 per pair of birds. 
2. In order to make $600 a year you would require a 
fiock of 600 pairs, figuring as indicated in previous 
answer. I do not advise any beginner to enter the busi- 
ness so largely. It would be much safer for vou to 
begin with not more than fifty pairs of mated birds 
and add to them as your income from the birds enables 
you to do. If you have some choice common stock 
doing well, get some pure Homers and mate with them 
and breed back their squabs to pure-bred Homers. 

KAFFIR CORN PLUCKING TAIL-FEATHERS. 

O. I. I notice you quote Kaffir corn at ninety cents 
per bushel. I have just received a quotation of $26 
per ton, with a freight rate of fifty-seven cents per cwt. 

55 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



2. Why do you advise pulling out the tail-feathers of 
young birds ? 

A. I. The price quoted for Kafifir corn was correct 
for the year, but the price has advanced very materially 
since, and is now quoted in our local market at $2 
per hundred, and hard to get. I think it is grown prin- 
cipally in the South and Southwest. 2. I pluck the 
tail-feathers from young birds when putting out to 
shift for themselves because the molting season is ap- 
proaching and the quills must be thrown off by Nature, 
which is a slow process. The plucking does not seem to 
injure the bird in any way, and during the weakened 
condition of the bird the absence of the dragging tail 
seems a relief. 

SQUABS DYING. 

Q. I am losing squabs about a week or ten days old. 
Our house is well built, lined with tar-paper. We feed 
half corn, one-sixth barley, one-sixth wheat, one-sixth 
millet, except on Sundays we feed part peas. Have lost 
four in the last week. Our pen is twelve feet wide, six- 
teen feet high and sixteen feet long, extending over 
the house. Would it be better to have it not so high, 
and longer? W^e have our mated birds in separate pens 
from the unmated. The door between the pens was 
left open by mistake and four of the unmated birds 
got in with the mated. Would it be advisable to leave 
them there, or go to the trouble of separating them 
again ? 

A. In the absence of any further description of your 
dead squabs, it would be difficult to assign a positive 
reason. They may be dying of canker ; they may be 
chilled because the birds have been scared from the 
nests at night by some cause and do not go back. Are 
the crops of the dead squabs full or empty? If very much 

56 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



distended with food, the barley may probably be caus- 
ing the trouble. Most likely, however, the unmated 
birds are causing the mischief. I have known a single 
unmated cock-bird, by his fighting in nests of young 
squabs, to kill many. By all means get the unmated 
birds out if at all possible. If you have a record of 
your birds this will not be difficult to do. If you are not 
keeping a record, try to find these birds and catch them 
and put them where they belong. 

SALT FOR PIGEONS MATING BIRDS, ETC. 

Q. I take the liberty of writing to ask a few questions, 
as I have within the past few months embarked in the 
business and I want to learn. I obtained my Homers 
from a company. They directed me to put a lump of 
rock salt where the birds could get at it ; you say place 
table salt, powdered charcoal and sand in small boxes. 
Will not the birds eat too much salt if allowed free daily 
access to such salt? Mice are in my pigeon-house; do 
they do any harm? Rats will, I know. I have about 
fifty pigeons old enough to nest (not pairs) ; only about 
fifteen pairs working, and often they lose both squabs 
and sometimes one. I feed cracked corn and red wheat, 
giving as varieties Kaffir corn and peas (cracked) every 
three days. I give oyster-shell all the time and rock 
salt at all times. My house is 10x20 feet. How many 
pairs will this hold without crowding? I ventilate and 
give fresh water in tub five inches deep by eighteen 
inches. They seem healthy, hearty, and sprightly, but 
do not work as they ought. As I am trying to raise 
squabs for market for profit, I would be glad to find out 
the reason why they don't breed better. Can you give 
me all the information about raising for profit? Any- 
thing you can say to help me will be gratefully received. 
So far, my pigeons have been an expense. 

57 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

A. I prefer feeding loose salt because the birds can 
easily pick it up, and rock salt is difficult to break off ; 
birds can pick at it a long while and not get any salt 
except by eating the salty dirt around the lump. If 
salt is fed regularly, I have never found any injurious 
results to follow, but I am always careful with a new 
lot of birds to feed sparingly until they are fully ac- 
customed to it. Mice are a positive danger in a pigeon- 
house, and may be the cause of your dead squabs, for 
they often seek the nests of the pigeons because of its 
warmth and make their homes there, and by their 
stirring around cause the birds to leave the nest. Your 
birds are mixed up, mated and unmated all together. 
Separate them at once, putting the breeders in a coop 
by themselves and as others mate up add them to same 
quarters. Unmated birds often fight in nests, throwing 
out eggs or a squab, which may explain why you some- 
times have one dead squab and at others two. Your 
feeding is fair. I would suggest adding a little millet 
in afternoon feed and twice a week hemp instead of 
millet. Your house is large enough for fifty pairs of 
birds if you have sufficient nest-boxes. Provide not 
less than two such boxes for each pair of birds, and it 
is as well to have a few extra. Do your birds drink and 
bathe in same water? If so, don't allow it unless you 
are very careful to empty the tub after each daily bath. 
I much prefer bath-tubs and a separate drinking- 
fountain, then birds can not bathe in fountains, and 
the bath-pans can easily be emptied as soon as birds 
have used them. It is difficult to tell the exact cause 
of your trouble without further knowledge or an in- 
spection of your dead squabs. Clean out the mice and 
put the breeding birds by themselves and see if you 
do not get more squabs. 



58 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

TIME TO START HARDY BIRDS. 

Q. I have a few Homers whicli, up to the present 
lime, have done nothing; although I have had them 
for several months, but two of them have made nests. 
I. Would you advise going into the business of squab 
raising? 2. When is the best time to start? 3. Are 
White Homers as hardv as the others? 4. How long 
can the old bird remain off her nest with safety this 
weather ? 

A. I. I could not safely venture an opinion as to 
your taking up the business of squab raising unless I 
knew more about you. Many are making money in it ; 
others are dropping money and giving up the business. 
You can not succeed in this business without paying 
strict attention to details. There is a whole lot of advice 
floating around to the effect that it is an easy matter 
to make money in squabs. You will have to learn some- 
thing before you will keep the bankteller busy count- 
ing your deposits. 2. I would not start during the molt- 
ing season, and if I had a good, dry, suitable building, 
and could get birds that I knew were first class. I 
would start at any time excepting, perhaps, in mid- 
winter. You will have some loss from chilled eggs and 
young squabs frozen in severe weather during winter. 

3. I do not find the White Homers as hardy as the other 
colors, but I have never had a large number of them. 

4. In the severe weather of December and early in 
January if the birds remain off the nests very long 
the eggs will chill. 

ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES. 

Q. I would like to ask how you determine the sex 
of the birds in order to keep a record and also the mating. 
In a flock of fifty birds the task of catching the mating 

59 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



pairs to determine the numbers is rather a difficuU one. 
The mating seems to be one of the difficulties of pigeon 
raising, as the pigeons seem to bear no distinguishing 
mark. 

A. No one is able, in all instances, to tell with 
absolute certainty the sex of pigeons until the egg is 
laid. Usually the cock is larger and more bull-headed, 
while the hen is smaller and neater about the head. But 
sometimes the hen is as large as any bird in the flock. 
Usually the sex may be told when "driving," the cock 
driving the hen to nest. Two persons are needed to 
catch the birds that are mated. Each one should 
select one of the pair and keep eyes on it until caught, 
for it is difficult for one person to watch both birds. 
When caught put numbered bands on the birds and put 
them in a separate breeding-pen. Make a record in a 
book of each mated pair, thus : 1040, Red Checkered 
cock; 1070, Blue Checkered hen. Then when 1040 
dies a new cock can be placed in the breeding-quarters. 
This mating up does take time, but I do not know any 
way to have success without doing this work, and 
having the record as suggested makes one know cer- 
tainly how his birds are. 

PRICES — MARKETS — EXPENSES^ ETC. 

Q. I. Do you raise squabs for market? 2. What 
prices rule for squabs during different seasons of the 
year, w eight and conditions the same ? 3. Do you raise 
breeders for sale? 4. Are they mated? 5. Would 
Homers do well in this climate? 6. What would be 
the probable number of squabs from each pair per 
year? 7. With such attention as is given by breeders 
North what weight squabs might I reasonably expect? 
8. Are pigeons in confinement more liable to disease than 
when at liberty? If so, what? 9. How many pairs of 

60 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

breeders should I start with to ship, say, ten dozen 
squabs per month? lo. Can you give me range of 
prices I may expect from squabs during the year? 
II. Referring to next above on basis of eight pounds 
per dozen? 12. Best market and names of receivers? 
Are they consumers or commission men? 13. What 
would be probable expense of shipping; viz., propor- 
tionate cost of shipping-coop, ice, freight charges, etc., 
as compared with amount received for each shipment 
on basis of eight pounds to dozen and ten dozen in 
the package? 14. Have you tried selling squabs through 
vour express company? If so, with what success? 
15. Could arrangements be made with hotels and 
restaurants to sell to them direct, so as to avoid dividing 
profit with the middleman? 16. Will Homers in con- 
finement produce as many squabs per year as when at 
liberty? 17. In your opinion, could a house be so 
arranged as to reduce the disturbance of the birds (when 
cleaning house) to a minimum? For instance, suppose 
the lower tier of nest-boxes to be six feet above the 
floor, or any arrangement by which disturbance may 
be lessened ? 

A. I. Yes, and lots of them. 2. The average price 
for squabs during 1903 was 60 cents per pair, ranging 
from $3.00 to $5.50 per dozen for eight-pound birds. 
3. I do. 4. I have both young and old birds and they 
are now mated. 5. I know personally nothing about 
conditions in your locality. Birds exist everywhere. 
You can judge the local climatic conditions better than 
I can. 6. The number of squabs from any flock de- 
pends on the breeders, kind of stock, and management. 
From five to six pairs ought to be produced in my own 
section. 7. This also depends entirely on person and 
stock. Pigeons of good healthy stock and properly cared 
for ought to yield squabs weighing from seven to eight 

Gi 



The Feather's Practical Squa. ♦ Book. 

pounds per dozen in four weeks. 8. I do not find that 
birds confined to coop and fiy are more susceptible to 
disease. I know some flocks which are allowed full 
liberty of flight and they have the same diseases as 
those kept closely confined. 9. This so much depends 
on breeder, stock, care and management that I could 
not guarantee any figures unless these conditions were 
fully granted. At least 275 pairs of birds under the 
best conditions would be required. If you realized 
better results you would be fortunate. 10. See answer 
to No. 2. II. The prices were based on eight pounds. 
Seven pounds and under are cut in price. 12. I ship 
altogether to New York market. Philadelphia is a 
very poor market. I have not tried Boston. My birds 
are all picked at a cost of 5 cents a pair. There are 
lots of commission men on Washington Street in New 
York City. 13. I pay about 8 cents for shipping-box; 
12 to 15 cents for ice; about 40 cents for expressage. 
I ship from sixty to 125 squabs weekly during the 
year. Commission charges are five per cent. 14. No. 
15. I have not attempted this. 16. They will do better 
in confinement. When at liberty they may not feed 
young so regularly, and may be caught by hawks or 
shot by gunners. 17. I can see that nests would not 
be nearly so handy set up six feet from floor and would 
require a step-ladder to catch squabs and clean the nests. 
My birds do not get much disturbed, but I do not 
allow any unnecessary noise or confusion. 

ANOTHER PARTY IN TROUBLE. 

Q. I. Will you kindly tell me how to mate? 2. How 
can I tell males from females? 3. If I catch pairs of 
equal numbers and separate them from others, how 
can I tell which are mates, or, if not mates, when they 
are mated? 4. How long shall I keep them together? 

62 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

5. What disposition can I make of those that have no 
mates ? Some of my pigeons died last fall from cholera, 
I think, leaving, doubtless, some without mates. I 
have about eighty or more, and only some ten or twelve 
pairs are nesting at all. My house has ninety nest- 
boxes and room for twenty-five more. I started with 
six pairs eighteen months ago. I want, of course, to 
raise squabs for sale. Have never sold one yet. My 
house is lined with tar-paper to keep out dampness and 
draughts. It is eighteen inches from the ground on 
slight elevation. Have flying-pen fifteen feet high, 
twenty feet wide, and fifteen feet long. 6. How much 
common salt shall I give this number of birds, and shall 
I keep it before them all the time? 

A. I. Take all unmated birds out and put them in a 
pen by themselves, and when you notice a pair of these 
birds driving and building nests, catch them, put bands 
on them, make a record of the pair in a permanent book, 
and put them in the permanent breeding-coop. 2. Tell- 
ing the sex comes from practical experience, so that you 
can tell in most instances, but there are cases when it 
is absolutely impossible for anyone to tell until eggs are 
laid. The action of birds in most cases is a sufficient 
guide. An experienced breeder can tell at a glance, 
when birds are on the sunning-board. the majority of 
those that are cocks and hens, but a few of them will 
puzzle the most skilful. 3. Observation alone will tell 
when birds are mated, and I am constantly urging 
novices not to put any birds in the breeding-quarters 
until the birds have made nests and laid eggs. Placing 
twenty cocks and twenty hens in a pen by themselves 
does not in any manner constitute mated birds. A great 
many persons have bought birds which are supposed to 
be of equal number as regards sex. and presumed they 
were on a fair road to success, but after weeks of delay 

63 



' The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

thev have found their birds are not mating up, and the 
probability is the birds never were mated. When you 
buy birds insist on a guarantee that they are mated at 
time of sale. Last summer a visitor came all the way 
from Lancaster, Pa., to see me, and told me he had pur- 
chased fifty pairs of mated birds, and after he had them 
six months only ten pairs had mated. He then called in 
an expert and found he had purchased ninety cocks and 
ten hens. Another party purchased six pairs of birds, 
sex guaranteed, and received eleven cocks and one hen. 
The novice ought to purchase only mated birds, and he 
will even then have many difficulties to overcome. 4. 
After having placed all the mated pairs in the breeding- 
quarters, try to find out how many cocks and how many 
hens you have left. If you have more cocks then hens, 
purchase the number of hens needed to make the sexes 
equal, or if hens are in excess, purchase cocks. Another 
way would be to dispose of the excess number. If after 
doing this the birds do not mate up, your best remedy 
is to dispose of them, for they are a bill of expense. 5. 
This is answered above. 6. Keep a full supply of fine 
table salt constantly before them. 

WHAT CONSTITUTES A MATED PAIR OF BIRDS? 

O. A question has come up wherein there is quite a 
difiference of opinion, and as you have had experience in 
handling pigeons I would like to have your opinion. If 
you received an order for ten pairs of mated breeders, 
what would constitute a mated pair ? In shipping mated 
pairs — several pairs in a crate — would there be any 
danger of these pairs being broken ? 

A. My opinion of mated birds is this : A pair of 
birds that are producing squabs. My own practice is 
to band my squabs in the nest, and when a pair begin 
driving and carrying nest material I catch them, take 

64 



The Feather's Practical Squab i^ook. 

the number of each band and record same, and when 
ihey produce a pair of squabs I consider them mated, 
and not until then. A given number of birds of each 
sex offered for sale might or might not be mated birds, 
and birds in one pen if sold to another breeder may not 
be mated the same in new quarters as in the old place. 
Young mated birds when moved can not be relied on, 
nor can older birds, to keep mated in new quarters. T 
have in my coop a pair of birds three years old. These 
birds seemingly are mated, but they have not laid a 
single egg in all this time, and yet they raise a pair of 
squabs nearly every month. I put a pair of eggs in 
their nest whenever I find them, and they invariably 
produce good squabs, for they are extra good feeders. 
A large coop almost always has some eggs on the floor, 
and by placing these under this pair of birds I utilize 
them to good advantage, and would not part with them 
for $5. They are probably barren birds, and I can not 
consider them practically mated, for if I did not go to 
the extra trouble I have mentioned they would be a 
bill of expense. 

PIGEONS IN COLD CLIMATES. 

Q. I have become much interested in the squab in- 
dustry, though I had formerly looked upon the business 
as "moonshine." Do you think one could be successful 
in this cold climate (New Hampshire) raising squabs? 
Thermometer falls to sixteen degrees below zero some- 
times. Have a barn loft, 12x60. Would you advise five 
or ten pairs now and breed up as fast as I can, building 
a suitable house in the spring? 

A. Regarding the climate in New Hampshire, I am 
not competent to judge. I have experienced the coldest 
weather this winter since I have been in the business, 
the mercury reaching zero and even six degrees below, 

65 



The Feather's Practical Sqnab Book. 

but I have had better success than during any previous 
winter. We have had it cold, but dry, and this is 
probably the reason. My houses are sheathed inside on 
the north side, with a dead-air space between sheathing 
and weather-boards. My advice would be to partition 
off the barn loft, provided it meets the requirements as 
to warmth and ventilation, and put in a few pairs of 
birds this winter, and by spring you will have had 
enough experience to indicate whether you can succeed 
or not. I would not advise you to enter largely in the 
business without experimenting in the way suggested, 
unless you find pigeons are bred successfully during 
the cold months in that section. 




66 



PART II. 

Reprinted from Farmers' Bulletin No. 177, 
Dept. of Agriculture; by William E. Rice. 

BUILDINGS. 

THE SITE. 

In selecting a site for the home of pigeons, as much 
care and judgment should he exercised as in choosing 
tlie location of one's own home. An unhealthful location 
for man wtnild most likely prove unhealthful for the 
hirds. A damp place, or one exposed to extremes of heat, 
cold, or w ind, is to be rejected. The spot selected should 
be well drained, should be facing the south or east, should 
be free from obstructions which shut out the rays of 
^he morning sun, and be sheltered either by trees or 
buildings froip the north and west winds. Such a ]")lace, 
with a shallow stream of pure running water for drink- 
ing and bathing — so essential to the health of pigeons — 
will be an ideal site, and will require a minimum of ex- 
pense and daily work in caring for the stock. Of course 
such sites can only be obtained in the country. 

THE HOUSE. 

Size and Capacity. — The house is as important ?. 
the site. Some successful breeders prefer single houses 
holding not more than fifty pairs of birds ; but five of 
these single houses will cost considerably more to build 
than one house of five sections accommodating fifty 
pairs in each section, and giving the same capacity as 
the five single houses. Again, feeding and other daily 
attentions to the flock require less time and labor in one 
large house than in five separate smaller houses. In 
stormv weather and in time of snow-banks, this in- 
creased labor for separate houses is quite an item. 



67 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

In no case should a house be buih for more than 250 
pairs, nor more than fifty pairs be kept in each section. 
It must be so designed as to be well ventilated and 
easily kept clean, secure from attacks of mice, rats, antl 
other animals, and not subject to draughts of air. 

The houses last built by the writer ( Fig. i ) , the form 
of which is recommended, are 40 feet long and 12 feet 
wide, with six posts on each side, and 9 feet high to 
peak of roof. Along the north side a passage-way 
(Fig. 2) 3 feet wide runs the full length, the rest of 




Fig. 1.— General vier, f pigeon-house, fly, and other baildiug^s. 

the space being divided by four partitions into five equal 
pens. These pens are se])arated from the passageway 
by wire netting, reaching from the floor to the roof, with 
a door into each pen. If the pigeon raiser has but one 
house he should either use one of these compartments as 
a room for storing feed and other supplies, picking 



68 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

squabs, etc., or add lo feet to the length of the building 
for such purposes. 

Light and Ventilation. — These are provided for 
as follows : Each gable near the peak has a four-light 
window. The south side has a window with two six- 
light sashes in each section, and the north side two 
six-light windows. All the windows slide so they can 
be opened to an}- extent desired, and they are all covered 
with wire netting on the outside to prevent the esca]X' 
of the birds. 

Ventilation is secured by closing the doors or windows 
against which the wind may be blowing and opening 
those on the opposite side to the extent which may be 
necessary. 

Each partition contains an opening (covered with net- 
ting) of the same size as the gable windows and in line 
with them, thus permitting a circulation of air through 
the entire building when necessary. A projecting ven- 
tilator should be built in the roof just over the center 
of the building, and should be furnished with slides 
operated with cords, as a means of additional ventilation. 

Materials and Constklction. — Three rows of brick- 
piers i8 inches high serve as a foundation for the build- 
ing, and on these rest the joists, which are 4x4 inches 
in size and placed 3 feet apart. Matched flooring should 
be well nailed to the joists, matched pine lumber should 
be used for the walls, the building should be covered 
with a good shingle roof, and the whole structure should 
be well painted with two coats of good paint. 

In such a climate as that of Southern New Jersey it is 
not necessarv to ])laster the inside walls or sheathe with 
building-paper, but in a colder climate it would un- 
doubtedly be well to give such protection. 

69 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

The partitions between the sections are made of inch 
boards running' to the roof. All inside doors are of 
wire netting and are hung with spring hinges so as to 
be self-closing to prevent the possible escape of the 




Fig. 2- — Interior view of pgeon house. 

birds. Each pen has one of these doors and likewise 
each end of the building, and both inside and outside 
doors should be kept securely locked. 

Nest-Boxes. — Nesting-places (Figs. 2 and 3) can be 
made as follows: Inch boards 12 inches wide, with 



70 



The Feather's Practical Scpiab Hook. 

parallel cross cleats (from strips i inch square) nailed 
on 9 inches apart, are set uprig^ht 12 inches apart (in 
the clear) , with edges against the partitions and securely 
nailed at top and bottom. These boards extend from 
floor to roof, and when in position boards 1 2 inches 
square of inch stuff are cut and placed on the cleats to 
form the floors of the nest-boxes, thus making little 
homes for the pigeons 9 inches high with a floor 12 




Fio. 3.— Nest-boxes add nest-fans. 

inches square. The sliding floor of each box furnishes 
an easy method of removal for cleaning. Each pen 
contains two sets of nest-boxes, one against each parti- 
tion containing sixty boxes, or 120 in all, supplying 
each pair of birds with two nesting-places, with twenty 
to spare. The bottom of the lowest box is 15 inches 
from the floor. Nests should not be placed directly on 
the floor if possible to avoid it. Some pairs will per- 



71 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

sistently build on the floor, in which case it may be best 
to humor them and make no attempt to compel them to 
nest elsewhere. 

No provision should be made for perches within the 
house, the writer's experience being that no advantage 
results therefrom. It is a good practice to visit each 
house every night before retiring, to see that everything 
is in proper shape. The birds will almost invariably be 
found each in a separate box, the same bird in the same 
box night after night. They are thus secluded and do 




Fig. 4.— The honse and the fly. 

not soil each other by their droppings nor foul the 
floors as they would if they occupied individual perches 
outside the boxes. 

A long running-board within the pen is a disadvan- 
tage, for on it a cock inclined to play the boss can chase 
away other birds and keep the whole flock in an uproar. 
On the other hand, with each bird settled away in a 
separate nesting-place, little opportunity is given for 
fighting ; and if it be attempted, the bird within the box 



72 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book, 



has a great advantao^e over the one outside and can 
soon compel a retreat. The use of small eathcrnware 
nesting-pans (Pig. 3) is advised. Some pairs ma;- re- 
fuse to use them, and persist in huilding on the Hoor of 
the nest-box. As a safeguard against lice, the base of 




Fig. 5.— The house and the fly. 

the nest should be made of tobacco-stems. Straw should 
be supplied for the use of the birds in completing the 
nests. 



THE FI.V. 



The house being finished, consideration must ne.xt be 
given to ])roviding for the proper exercise of the birds 
in the open air and sunlight. This is secured by erect- 
ing a wire -netting cage or fl\- (I'^igs. 1, 4, 5, aiul 6) 
communicatin.g with the house by means of small open- 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

ings. The ground sliould be made level if not naturally 
so, and for a house of the size indicated it should ex- 
tend out 32 feet from the side of the house. The frame 
of the fly is made of hemlock posts 2x3 inches in size, 
and 8 feet high above the ground. These posts should 
be set in three rows parallel with the side of the building, 
six posts in each row (Fig. 4). The outer row supports 
the end of the fly 32 feet from the building. Then an- 
other row is set half-way in toward the house, and the 
third along the side of the house. Hemlock boards an 
inch thick and 4 inches wide are nailed to the top and 
bottom around the sides and an additional 4-inch board 
is nailed between at such a height that a netting 4 feet 
Vv'ide will reach from it to the strip at the bottom and a 
3-foot netting from it to the strip at the top, thus mak- 
ing, when the netting is properly nailed on, a wall 8 
feet high. The posts are so placed as to divide the fly 
into sections corresponding to the pens of the house, 
thus giving each lot of fifty pairs a separate pen and a 
communicating fly. An assistant is required to stretch 
the netting while it is being nailed on. It is a good plan 
to fasten one end and the top edge first, then the assist- 
ant with a stout forked stick can stretch the netting 
smoothly while the lower edge is being securely fastened. 
Doors opening into each section are provided. These 
are placed i foot from the side of the house, all in line, 
covered with netting and put up with spring hinges. 
The latter are very important for they secure promptly 
self-closing doors, thus efi^ectually preventing the escape 
of any valuable Homers which may have been brought 
from a distance and which, if permitted to gain the free 
air, will immediately fly to their former homes. Brackets 
are nailed to all the posts 4 feet from the ground and 
boards 4 inches wide are nailed to them to furnish the 



74 



The Feather's Praetical Squab Rook. 

pigeons a place to alight and walk when not in flight. 
These boards are placed at the ends of the sections as 
well as along the sides. No cross boards or roosting 
poles are permitted to obstruct the clear passage, for if 
they were used, birds might injure themselves when 
exercising or in trying to escape from the keeper in his 
necessary attempts to catch certain birds. 




Fig. 6.— The house and the fly. 

The birds are allowed to pass from the house to the 
fly through an opening in each section 3 inches wide 
and 4 inches high, rounded at the top, with a lighting- 
board 6 inches wide on either side. Slides are arranged 
to close these openings when it is desired temporarily 
to confine the birds in either fly or house for the pur- 
pose of catching any one, or in severe weather. 



75 



The Feather's Prattical Squab Book. 



The cost of the house 12x40 feet in size, well painted 
outside and whitewashed thoroughly on the inside, with 
materials at present prices, is ^250. It is safe to esti- 
mate the cost of houses at $1 per pair of birds, not count- 
ing the earthen dishes used for nests. 

For the beginners who desire to start with 25 pairs or 
less, temporary structures can be improvised or existing 
buildings utilized until sufficient experience has been 
gained to enable them to branch out. 



76 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



VARIETIES OF PIGEONS. 

THE HOMER. 

The best variety of pigeons to keep for squab rais- 
ing is the " straight " Homer (Fig. 7). 

These magnificent birds are large and healthy; are 




Fig. 7.— White Homing Pigeon. 

good workers, always active and hunting about like the 
Leghorn fowls ; are the best of feeders ; are of quiet dis- 
position when properly mated ; and their eggs are seldom 
infertile. For these reasons I consider the straight 
Homers par excellence among all the pigeon-kind for 
squab farming. 

77 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

THE DRAGOON. 

The Dragoon (Fig. 8) is much esteemed by some, 
but I have yet to find an inteUigent breeder who accords 
the first place to any variety except the Homer. When 
the latter are not procurable in sufficient numbers or the 
price seems to be too high, a cross between a Homer and 
a Dragoon usually gives excellent results. The Dragoon 
is a large bird, a good worker and feeder, as quiet in 
disposition as the Homer, and, when crossed as directed, 
the squabs are of good size. The crossing of these varie- 
ties can be accomplished with equal success either by 
mating a Homer cock and a Dragoon hen, or a Dragoon 
cock and a Homer hen. Straight Dragoon squabs are 
usually five weeks in growing to sufficient size for mar- 
ket, while straight Homer squabs are ready in four weeks 
and sometimes a trifle less. 

THE DUCHESSE. 

By some this variety is preferred. The writer is not 
enthusiastic in regard to these birds because a full blood 
of this variety is not nearly so good a feeder as the Hom- 
er. A cross of Homer and Duchesse blood will yield a 
good squab, but not equal to the straight Homer, and 
the presence of feathers on the legs, a characteristic of 
the Duchesse, is a disadvantage when dressing them. 

THE RUNT. 

The Runt is the giant among pigeons. It is very 
highly spoken of by some breeders because the squabs 
are so large, but the number of squabs is small. It takes 
an extra good pair of Runts to yield four pairs of squabs 
a year. While crossing with Homer blood will increase 
the number of squabs, the tendency of the squabs of such 
mixed blood to be dark in flesh is so serious a disad- 

78 



The Feather's Practical Squab Hook. 

vantage that I can not recommend them, for the novice 
will soon learn that dark-fleshed squabs are cut in price 
when he takes them to market. 1 find that even one- 
quarter of Runt blood is often sufficient to make dark 




Fig. 8.— Blue Dragoon Pigeon. 



squabs. Other objections to this variety are that both 
parents and squabs consume more food than Homers 
and Jiev are less active and slower in driving. 



79 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



LESSONS FROM OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCE. 

In traveling about the country and visiting many squab 
farms, I seldom find a flock of straight Homers, but fre- 
quently see all kinds mixed together, with no apparent 
system or purpose on the part of the breeder, the evident 
desire being to raise, if possible, a few squabs. I have 
made the proper kinds of birds for squab growing my 
study for the last five years, visiting many different 
places during this period. My experience, not only from 
my own pens, but from this extended observation, teaches 
me that for profitable squab growing there is nothing 
equal to the straight Homer. 

About ten years ago a gentleman advertised for sale 
a lot of pigeons. I visited him and found about 200 pairs 
in an old corn-crib. I picked out of the entire lot fifteen 
pairs, thinking that I had good stock for the squab busi- 
ness. I kept them for several weeks but the results were 
so meager that I became disgusted, and, when a customer 
came along and made me an offer, I sold him the whole 
lot ; but the birds never gave him any substantial results. 
I mention this because it is a common experience with 
those who start with poorly selected birds. 

When I next " contracted the fever " 1 purchased a 
lew pairs of straight Homers and in due time forty pairs 
of .Ts pretty birds as one u.^ually finds graced my pigeon 
quarters. 

In two years these birds averaged me seven and one- 
half pairs of squabs per pair per year, while some pairs 
gave me ten pairs and a few yielded as high as twelve 
pairs. But I think that any claim of a flock averaging 
twelve pair= of squabs per paiv annually is extravagant. 

Advertisements of straight Homers often attract pro- 
spective purchasers who, when chey have bought, arc 

80 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

very much disappointed. Straight Homers are hard to 
procure at a low figure. Sometimes, though straight 
enough, they are worn-out birds, which will merely 
prove a bill of expense. 

BREEDINXj. 

In the selection of breeding stock the beginner should 
consult some one having experience and critical knowl- 
edge and, if possible, secure his active assistance. 

MATING UP. 

A very important detail in squab raising is the proper 
mating of the fiock. Unless the birds are known to be 
mated they should not be placed in the breeding-quarters. 
Hence, a mating-house fitted with nest-boxes is neces- 
sary even 'when but few birds are kept, and in this house 
they should be placed until they begin to carry material 
and build nests ; then, and not until then, they may be 
transferred to the permanent breeding-house. ♦ 

When but few birds are to be mated a box with a wire- 
netting front and a partition can be used, or any small 
room can be improvised. 

KEETIXG A RECORD. 

Before the birds are placed in the breeding-house each 
bird should be banded. Open numbered bands can be 
purchased of dealers at about one cent apiece in quanti- 
ties of one hundred. Sfjualis intended for breeding must 
be banded in the nest before able to fiy. as by so doing 
nest-mates can surelv be distinguished. If closed bands 
are used, they can only be ])ut on when squabs are quite 
small. 

It is advisable to keen a record book and enter the 
number of each bird, noting the sex, color, and any other 

8i 



T\u^ F(^jitl)ei*s Practical Squab Book. 

distinguishing mark, so tliat the record will accurately 
describe the bird. Then should any bird die the record 
will show its sex and another mate can be substituted, 
or the remaining bird can be taken out and placed in the 
mating-coop until again mated. 

If a beginner is in possession of a flock of fifty pairs 
of selected birds, well mated, this record will make easy 
the matter of increasing his flock intelligently. Yoimg 
birds, from the best breeders only, should l)e selected 
and banded as directed. At the age of six weeks these 
youngsters should be taken out and placed in a sej^arate 
coop, and in this coop none but voung stock should be 
kept. All young birds, before being ]:)ut thus in the sepa- 
rate pen, should have all tail-(|uills plucked out, because 
there is less mortality among lairds so treated while at- 
taining their growth. 

It is well for a beginner to keep a record of the squabs 
as produced, numbering each nest, and entering in the 
records the birtls working in each nest, and the number 
of squabs produced. Some pairs will produce ten pairs 
of squabs a year, while others may yield only five. The 
record will enable the breeder to save young breeding 
stock from his prolific breeders onh-. If the bands are 
numbered consecutively and the birds are banded before 
leaving the nest, the nest-mates will always have consec- 
utive nunibers. It sometimes happens that a nest will 
have only one bird in it, in which case the record should 
indicate that fact. A very sim]:)le way is to underscore 
after the record of each nest is made, thus : 

478— B. B. cock. 

479 — I^'- !''• lien. 
480— B. Ch. cock. 
481— R. Ch. hen. 



82 



^ I 



The Featlier's Practical Scpiab TJook. 

This means that 478 is a Bkie-Barred cock and the 
only occupant of the nest : 479 and 480 are nest-mates, 
the hen l^cino- Blue-I'.arred, and the cock P.hie-Clieq- 
uered : 481 is a Red-Chequered hen from another rest, 
and the only occupant of the nest. 

INBREEDING AND CROSSING. 

Care must be taken not to inbreed. Under no circum- 
stances permit 479 and 480 to breed for they are nest- 
mates. If they should mate they must be separated 
until a new mate is chosen by each. Numbers 478 and 
479, or 478 and 481 can be safely mated. 

When increasing stock, it is a good plan to get a few 
pairs of mated Homers from a dififerent source, as this 
may afiford an excellent means of bringing in a dififerent 
strain of blood. 

Do not buy any cross-bred birds if possible to avoid 
it, unless you know exactly what you are getting. If 
desirous of increasing the flock, when it is impossible to 
procure straight Homers, the next best plan is to get 
some Dragoons of pure blood and mate with young 
straight Homers whose records have been kept as di- 
rected. Such crossing ought to give fair results. The 
ofifspring of these birds may be mated with full-blooded 
Homers, making squabs of three-fourths Homer and 
one-fourth Dragoon blood. Squabs from birds of half 
blood should not be mated with each other, but with 
full-blooded mates as directed. / These quarter-blood 
squabs will be a little larger than straight Homers, and 
will be ready for the market almost as soon. In making 
this cross, however, much care must be exercised to have 
very carefully selected Dragoons with good squab-pro- 
ducinjr records. 



83 



The L'eather's Practical Squab Book. 



FEEDS AND FEEDING. 

Though the houses may be well constructed and the 
birds well selected and properly mated, no success can 
be expected unless proper kinds of feed are procured 
and the birds are regularly fed. While it is true that 
some breeders have had fair success for a while by feed- 
ing only cracked corn and wheat, long-continued feed- 
ing on these two staples alone invariably fails to produce 
as good squabs or as many as when a further variety 
of grains is fed. In their free state, pigeons can select 
a variety of grains, avoiding one kind and choosing an- 
other, as their appetites dictate, but when they are kept 
in a small inclosure they must, of course, take what the 
breeder gives them. Hence, it becomes highly important 
that the breeder have good judgment as to kinds and 
quality of food to set before them, and that he have in- 
terest enough in his flock to avoid stinting the quantity, 
or feeding too largely of one kind because its price hap- 
pens to be low. 

The Feed-Room. — y\.s already suggested, a room 
should be set apart for a store-room. It should be sup- 
plied with a feed-bin divided into the proper number of 
sections to hold each variety of feed used ; or, instead of 
such feed-bin, small barrels with lids may be used. 

Feeds and Other .Supplies. — In these receptacles 
should be kept a generous supply of sifted cracked corn, 
Canada peas, wheat, German millet, Kafhr corn, and 
hemp. These are the six principal feeds. 

On the floor of each pen keep about a peck of clean 
sand evenly spread. Procure three boxes abput the size 
of small cigar-boxes ; fill one about one-third full of fine 
table-salt, the second with cracked oyster-shells, pigeon 
size, and the third with ground charcoal, about as fine 

84 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

as ground cofifee. These three substances are very es- 
sential to the health of pigeons. Clean out and replen- 
ish each of these boxes weekly. Do not fail to keep the 
salt-box filled and before them all the time, for the health 
of pigeons demands it. 

Feeding-Troughs. — In each pen is placed a feeding- 
trough, made of inch stuff, lo inches wide, 4 feet long, 
and with side 13^ inches high. This trough is placed in 
the middle of the pen to avoid feeding in the open fly, 
where the birds and grain would both be subjected to 
the weather. In feeding, a tin pail holding a peck is 
convenient, as is also a grocer's tin scoop No. 3, which 
holds about three pints. 

Rations. — For the morning ration give equal parts 
of cracked corn, wheat, and peas, well mixed, using two 
scoopfuls of the mixture to each pen of fifty pairs ot 
birds, and taking good care to see that all droppings are 
cleaned out of the troughs before feed is pvit in. 

The ration for the afternoon is composed of cracked 
corn, Kaffir corn, millet, and peas in equal parts. 

If at any feeding-time any of the previous supply has 
not been used, reduce the quantity. If, however, the 
troughs should be entirely bare, slightly increase the 
quantity. When a number of squabs are in the nests the 
birds will feed more freely and need a more liberal 
supply. 

Special Feeds. — On Thursdays and Sundays use 
hemp in the ration instead of millet. Care must be taken 
that the birds do not get this feed too often, nor in too 
large quantity, as it is very fattening and if fed in excess 
has a tendency to give the birds vertigo. For the same 
reason caution must be used in feeding millet. A small 
quantity of rice may be fed once a week with advantage. 

Time of Feeding. — Regularity in time of feeding 



85 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

should be strictly observed. The morning' feed in sum- 
mer should be given at 6.30 and in the winter at 7 or 
7.30. The afternoon ration should be given at 4 o'clock 
in the summer and 3 in the winter. The afternoon hours 
are quite important, and must be adhered to in order that 
the birds may have ample opportunity to fill themselves 
and feed their young before nightfall. 

Be sure to attend to the feeding yourself. Always go 
alone ; never permit anyone to accompany you, for birds 
are often very timid of strangers, and chilled eggs may 
result if a stranger should remain in the fly at feeding- 
time. Go in quietly, making no noise or sudden move- 
ments : and. after the feed is placed in the trough, always 
leave the birds alone for a full hour that they may be 
absolutely uninterrupted in feeding themselves and the 
squabs. 

Feeding Indoors. — Never feed out of doors under 
any circumstances in either summer or winter. Besides 
the loss occasioned by sparrows taking advantage of 
the opportunity to help themselves, in summer the heavy 
dews and hot nights will cause any feed left over to 
sour, and in winter storm and sleet will prevent birds 
from feeding. 

A Few Cautions. — Cracked corn must be sifted, for 
fine meal can not be used by the birds, and in hot. muggy 
weather it will sour over night, necessitating extra 
trouble in cleaning out the troughs. 

Be sure that every grain is sound and strictly first- 
class. Do not feed new wheat until it is thoroughly dry, 
usually not sooner than C~)ctober ist. and do not feed 
new corn until Christmas. Especially avoid musty 
grain. 

• Because one of these feeds mentioned may sometimes 
be quite cheap, do not be tempted to feed largely of it, 

86 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

thinking to save money thereby. Tliis practice so otien 
causes trouble tliat caution is urged in departing from 
the proportions named. 

Too much wlieat in the ration will almost always 
cause looseness of bowels and make the squabs skinny 
and dark. 

Birds need a variety of feed, and it would be as in- 
judicious and disastrous to feed exclusively on peas, a 
high-priced food, as on wheat alone or some other cheap 
food. 




Fig. 9.— Scjuabs (" peeper;, "), 12 hours old. 

How THE Squads are Fed. — Some wonder why 
squabs die in the nest or get on the floor or do not fatten 
up properlv. \'ery frequently the reason is simply be- 
cause the old birds are not properly fed. W e should 
constanth- bear in mind that a souab is very different 
from a chick. A newh--hatched chick c^n run about and 
help itself to food and water. The s(|mb. on the other 
hand, is utterlv helpless at birth (Figs. 9 rnd 10) : it 
is unable to walk and must be fed in the nest with what- 



87 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

ever the parent-bird brings to it. For about five days 
nature provides a special food commonly called " pigeon 
milk," a creamy substance contained in the crops of the 
pigeons and which they have the power to eject from 
their mouths into the mouths of their tender young. 
After a few days of such feeding the squab is fed on 
such grains as the pigeon gets, and by the same process 
of transfer from the parent's mouth to its own ; hence, 
it is essential that proper food be given the pigeons. 

Cost of Feeding. — The cost of feeding the kinds and 
quantities of grain recommended will be of interest to 
novices. With wheat at 80 cents a bushel, sifted cracked 
corn at $1 per hundredweight, Kaffir corn at 90 cents 
per bushel, millet at 90 cents, hemp at $1.30, and peas 
at $1.10 per bushel, the cost will be one-seventh of a 
cent a day for each bird, or about 52 cents a year. Feed- 
ing at such cost, I have never failed to realize an annual 
net return of $1.50 per pair, but I was never able to 
secure such returns when feeding steadily on a wheat 
and corn diet. 

Watering. — A generous supply of fresh, pure water 
for drinking' purposes should be supplied. The flock 
should be watered each morning before the supply of 
feed is given. The water supply should be near the 
feeding-troughs. Two-gallon stone fountains may be 
used in summer and galvanized iron ones in winter. 
These fountains are placed on the floors of the pens, one 
to each pen being sufficient. They should be thoroughly 
cleaned out each morning and filled with pure, fresh 
water, which will last all day. although during the heated 
spell of summer it is better to put in a fresh supply of 
water before the afternoon feeding. For thoroughness 
in cleaning the fountains, it is well to use a small brush. 
About twice a week place a piece of stone lime about 

88 



Tlie F(»atli(M''s Practical Scinah Hook. 

the size of a hickorv-niU in each fountain. At least three 
times a montli the fountain should be disinfected by using 
ten drops of carbolic acid to a two-gallon fountain, leav- 
ing the acid in the water for the birds to drink that day, 
as it will do them no harm. 

OTHER DETAILS OF M A.NTAGEM ENT. 

No success can be achieved in scjuab raising even with 
the best of houses, fine, well-mated stock, and proper 
food, unless the flock is given good care and manage- 
ment. 




Fig. 10.— Squabs ("squeakers"), 24 hours old. 

Bathing. — Birds should always have a supply of 
water in which to bathe. Bath-tubs made of galvanized 
iron or zinc, 3 inches deep, and about 30 inches square, 
and set in an open boxing of inch stuff, are placed in 
the end of the fly opposite the coo]). These furnish con- 
venient bathing-places for the birds, which are much 
used and enjoyed by them. Some use these bath-tubs 
instead of fountains for the supply of drinking-water, 
but when a bird bathes a milky scum appears on the 
surface of the water and it soon becomes quite foul, and 



89 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

unless changed several times daily is surely unfit for 
drinking purposes. After the birds are through bath- 
ing the tubs should be emptied and turned upside down. 

An excellent way to manage the water question is to 
provide a trough to run through the flies across the ends. 
This trough can be made of inch stuff, 12 inches wide, 
and 3 inches high ; and, when city water or other run- 
ning supply is available, a small steady stream can be 
allowed to flow in at one end and out at the other, which 
should be slightly lower to cause a current. The escap- 
mg water should cm]:)ty into a barrel sunk so as to bring 
its top level with the gnnind. 

Whitewashing. — A first requisite is that the new 
liouse should be thoroughl}' lime-washed inside before 
occupanc}-. Carbolic acid should be used in the prepara- 
tion of the wash in the ratio of a teaspoonful of the acid 
to two gallons of wash. The crude dark acid is as good 
for this purpose as the refined article, and costs much 
less. The acid serves to repel lice. This wash should 
be thoroughly spread over the entire surface of the in- 
side of a new coop, and this whitewashing should be 
repeated once a year thereafter. P)esides adding to the 
appearance of the house and making it lighter, it sweet- 
ens and freshens the interior and destroys any lice or 
mites. To make the application more effective the 
wash should be carefully worked into the corners and 
crevices. 

Cleaning. — Some breeders do not clean out nest- 
boxes and pens more than twice a year, and often only 
when they need some manure for gardening operations. 
It is a very dangerous practice to allow the droppings 
to accumulate, and, in protracted damp weather, a de- 
cided menace to health. I invariably clean all my houses 
resrularlv once a week. I take out the niovable bot- 



90 



The Foatber's Prrtctit-al Squab Book. 

toms of the nest-boxes, and with a large butcher-knife 
or steel scraper remove all excrement, letting it fall to 
the floor of the pen. If a nest-box contains young 
squabs or eggs or a freshly-made nest it is not disturbed, 
but is left to take its turn at a subsequent cleaning. After 
all nest-boxes are well cleaned a spade is used to loosen 
the droppings on the floor, and all are shoveled into a 
wheelbarrow in the passageway and the floor is swept 
clean. 

The flies are cleaned out from four to six times a 
year. I use about four inches of clean sand in the flies, 
the sand being sifted and furnishing a soft floor on 
which the birds alight. With this there is no danger of 
the birds laming themselves or breaking their legs, and 
the sand is always free from mud. A pinch of air- 
slacked sifted lime ( carbolated by the addition of a 
scant teacup of crude carbolic acid to a peck of lime) 
is scattered in each nest, a peck of dry sand is scattered 
on the floor, and the coop is ready for another week's 
run. 

Objection is made by some breeders that the weekly 
cleaning out unnecessarily disturbs the birds, compelling 
the timid ones to leave their nests, causing eggs to get 
chilled, etc. It certainly is possible to make a great up- 
roar in the coop during the cleaning, but this I never 
permit. The cleaner should enter the pen quietly, mak- 
ing no violent or sudden motions, and dispatch the 
work as quickly as possible. The birds should be so 
treated that, when it is necessary to enter their quarters, 
they know that no harm is intended. In this weekly 
cleaning the supply of salt, oyster-shells, and charcoal 
should be renewed and a fresh supply of tobacco-stems, 
cut into six-inch lengths, put into each pen. 



91 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

Ligiit-Weight Squaf.s. — If squabs at the proper 
age for market are of Hght weight — six and one-half or 
seven pounds to the dozen — they are not profitable, for 
they will always bring lower prices when sent to market. 
Such squabs indicate either that the parent-birds are 
poor feeders or that the breeder has fed improperly. 
If a record has been carefully kept, as suggested, an 
inspection of it will show whether a particular pair of 
birds regularly produce poor squabs. If so, and the food 
given has been suitable in quantity and variety, this 
pair of birds should be disposed of at once. During the 
molting season the squabs may be expected to be less 
plump than when the birds have less strain on them. 
These light-weight squabs cut down the profits more 
than some think. I have frequently seen a lot of nearly 
one hundred sold for $4.25 per dozen straight, while 
another lot sent at the same time and to the same buyer 
has brought $4.25 for some, $4 for others, and $3. 50, 
and even as low as $1.75 for others. Frequently this 
difference is directly traceable to the kind of feed given. 

Tr.\xsferring a Squab. — Sometimes, even with right 
feeding, a squab will be observed to be of light weight, 
being much smaller than its nest-mate. If there is in the 
pigeon-house a nest with only one young squab of the 
same size as the weakling, it is a good practice to transfer 
the latter to this nest, when the parents of the younger 
squab will feed both, usually with good results. It must 
be remembered, however, that no change of this kind 
sliould be made until after the squab is a week old, or 
during the time the parents are furnishing the " pig- 
eon milk." 

KILLING AND DRESSING. 

The squabs should be killed before they get so large 
that they leave the nests. The standard size is eight 

92 



The Feather's Prtutical Squab Book. 

pounds to the dozen. With properly kept birds this 
weiglit is usually attained in four weeks with strais^ht 
Homers, and five weeks with Dragoons. 

Preparation. — The producer should have a regular 
shipping-day, selecting such as best suits his conveni- 
ence, and on that day he should kill all squabs which 
are of proper size (Fig. ii). The sfjuabs should be 
caught in the morning before the feeding and watering 
are done. This assures empty crops. Judgment must 
be used in selecting the squabs, or some which are too 
light may be taken, causing a cut in the price. As 
caught, the squabs should be placed in pigeon-hampers 
and taken to the killing-room, which in cool weather 
should be heated to be made comfortable for the picker. 
An oil-stove lighted at the time of beginning to catch 
the squabs, will temper the room nicely by the time the 
squabs are all brought in if the flock is large. Place 
the hampers within eas\- reach of the cliair in which the 
picker is to sit, and have a basin of water close by. Di- 
rectly in front of the picker, suspend in a horizontal 
position a ring of wood or iron, about a foot in diameter, 
and hang from the ring four cords 8 inches long, termi- 
nating in slip nooses. 

Killing the Squabs. — Catch a squab from the ham- 
per, and suspend it by passing one of tlie nooses around 
the legs, tail, and wings, letting about 2 inches of the 
ends of the wings project beyond the noose, and tighten 
it well. Insert the killing-knife ( sold for such purposes) 
well into the back of the mouth and draw it forward 
cutting clear into the brain, hang a weighted wire in 
the bill and let the bird bleed. The wire is 6 inches long, 
hooked and pomted at the upper end. and weighted at 
the lower end with a piece of lead the size of a hulled 
walnut. Four birds are killed in turn, and picking be- 



93 



The Feather's Practicnl Squab Book. 



gins on No. i as soon as dead. Novices may kill and 
pick but one at a time until some speed is gained, but 
an expert picker will kill four and " rough pick " them 
all before they get too cold. 

Dressing the Squabs. — Allow the birds to remain 
suspended, but release the wings, grasping them both in 
the left hand back of the bird. Moisten the thumb and 
forefinger of the right hand in the pan of water, and 
begin picking the neck, leaving about three-quarters of 




Fig. 11.— Squabs (" squealei s "), 28 days old, ready for market. 

an inch next the head unpicked. Still hold the wings 
in the left hand until the entire front of the bird, legs 
included, is picked. Then bringing the wings in front 
of the bird, hold in the left hand as before, and remove 
the balance of feathers from the body. Now. with wings 
still in left hsnd pluck quills from both wings at once, 
and also the larger feathers, and then finish each* wing 
separately. This completes the " rough picking," after 



94 



Tlic PVntlier's PracticMl S<jUir(> I>i)()k. 

which they must be ])infeathere(l, in wliich ()])eration a 
small knife is helpful. An expert ]:)icker. when he has 
finished the third bird, kills three more so that thev ma}' 
be bleeding while he is at work with the fourth. As 
soon as finished each squab is dropi)ed into a tub of cold 
water to drive out the animal heat and make the birds 
more firm and plump. 

An exi)ert picker can kill and " rough pick " twenty 
squabs an hour or completely dress twelve to fifteen in 
the same time. 

It pays well to use care in picking not to tear the skin 
or leave any feathers on the birds. Well-fattened birds 
are seldom torn by the expert picker. The weighted 
wire is of advantage in slightly stretching the skin and 
making it less liable to tear. 

When all the squabs are dressed, the feet and mouths 
must be thoroughly washed of all filth and blood ; they 
should be placed again for a few minutes in clean cold 
water, and then hung on a drying-rack for five minutes 
to drain. 

Marketing. — If the squabs are sold to a local dealer, 
they may be taken from the rack at once, placed in a 
suitable basket, and delivered immediately. If they are 
to be expressed to a distant market, packing in ice is 
necessary, and a box or barrel must be used. Place a 
layer of cracked ice at the bottom, alternate with layers 
of birds and ice. and finish with a generous topping of 
ice. Only in quite cold weather is it safe to omit ice. 
Place a secure covering on the i^^ackage and mark full 
directions to whom shipped, as well as your own address, 
and the number of birds. 



95 



The Feather's Practical Scjiiab Book. 



DISEASES, PARASITES, AND REMEDIES. 

With good, wholesome food, proper housing and care, 
very little disease is usually encountered. The best pre- 
ventives of disease are : ( i ) A dry house, free from 
draughts; (2) untainted grains; (3) pure water; (4) 
regularity of feeding; and (5) cleanliness. 

DISEASES. 

Going Light. — This disease is characterized by mop- 
ing and drooping of the bird, which, when examined, 
will usually be found to be thin in flesh. Diarrhea is 
frequently a first symptom, which may be checked bv 
a dose of sweet-fern tea. If the discharge is slimy give 
a dropperful of cod liver oil and creosote every night 
and morning until improvement is noticed. This remedv 
is prepared by mixing 10 cents' worth of the oil and 5 
cents' worth of creosote in a two-ounce bottle. By a 
dropper is meant the little instrument which is used in 
filling fountain-pens, and which is very convenient to 
use in giving drops or small doses. 

If the disease has so far progressed that the bird 
breathes heavily or gasps for breath, use what some 
have designed as the " hatchet " remedy ; that is, kill 
the bird. This disease usually manifests itself only 
during the molting season, and in all cases the tail-quills 
should be plucked. 

I think the disease is often due to unsound grain or 
permitting feed to lie on the ground and sour. In light 
attacks three drops of compound tincture of gentian are 
sometimes sufficient to effect a cure, if the tail has been 
plucked. Too hard driving by the cock-bird may cause 
the trouble, by preventing the hen from getting full 
quantity of food. The first diarrhea may be caused bv 



96 



The Feather's I'ractical Squab liook. 

feeding too much wheat or grain that is too new. A 
good remedy in such cases is to give two droi)])erfuls 
of sweet-fern tea at once. 

Roup. — Roup ma\ be known l)y a discharge from 
the nostrils and a very offensive breath, and is probably 
the sequence of a neglected cold, coupled with a dis- 
eased condition of the bird. It is very contagious and re- 
quires careful treatment. Fill a small oil-can with cam- 
phorated oil, and after washing the nostrils well, put 
three or four drops in each of them and one or two in 
the mouth. Another remetly is to use two drops of 
kerosene oil in the nostrils and one or two in the mouth. 
Watch birds carefullv until cured. If the birds are well 
taken care of, this remedy is a sure cure. 

Vp:rtigo. — When afflicted with vertigo the bird turns 
its head over its shoulder and seems dizzy, frequently 
falling down. It is probably an affection of the brain. 
I have known a bird with vertigo to live for two years, 
always having a spell when I entered the coop. I have 
never known a case to be cured, and the best treatment 
is the " hatchet " remedy. 

Leg .and Wing Troii'.lf'.s. — In some cases, the legs 
of the bird seem too weak to support its body. Homers 
and short-legged varieties very seldom have this trouble. 
Inbreeding I believe to be one of the chief causes. Do 
not inbreed, always keep a record, and mate carefully, 
and you need not fear this trouble. 

Birds sometimes ma\ strike their wings in going in 
or out of the entrance, or may hit each other with their 
wings in fighting, and such blows may cause lumps to 
form. Some advise opening such a lump with the knife, 
but this treatment, in my experience, has always caused 
a stiff joint, and I can not recommend it. The only 
remedy I have found effectual is to paint the part oc- 

97 



The Feather's PracticaJ Squab Book. 

casionally with tincture of iodine. I have successfully 
treated several cases in this way, but never had a suc- 
cessful one with the knife treatment. 

A swelling sometimes forms on the wing-joint next 
the body. All varieties are more or less subject to this. 
The swelling has no corruption in it. The remedv is 
to paint with iodine tincture, and, if the wing droops, 
lessen the weight by plucking the wing-quills. 

Canker. — The appearance of canker is indicated by 
a profuse discharge of cheesy matter from the side of 
the mouth. As soon as noticed, treatment should be 
given. Prepare a solution of bluestone, and with a small 
camel's hair brush swab well the part afifected. Do this 
two days in succession and then with a match-stem care- 
fully remove the cheesy growth, being very careful not 
to draw blood, and then put a small quantity of powdered 
sulphur in the throat. Do not attempt to check the dis- 
charge as it first appears except by treating as men- 
tioned. If the bird is badly cankered before treatment 
begins, and the mouth well clotted, or if there is a large 
cankerous lump well down in the throat, treatment sel- 
dom is of any avail, and usually such a case is best 
remedied by killing the bird. In the case of valuable 
birds the knife may be used as a last resort. 

To keep the flock free from this disease feed only 
sound grains and give the purest of water. Never place 
newly purchased birds in the flies until first inspected 
thoroughly by opening the mouth to see if any canker 
exists. When an}- is found, they should be handed back 
to the seller, for canker is one of the most dreaded dis- 
eases. 

When the disease is mild in form, by the prompt use 
of the remedies recommended here, favorable results 
are almost always secured. 

98 



:j\^ ^ 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

Cholera. — This is the worst of all diseases with 
which the breeder contends, and more loss is occasioned 
by this complaint than by all others combined. Tt rnns 
its course with fatal rapidity, and, when once present 
in a flock, may qviickly decimate the pens. Happily, 
however, the cause of cholera may almost always be 
traced to bad management and bad feeding, so that a 
careful and intelligent breeder seldom is called upon to 
carry out dead birds by the bucketful, as sometimes 
happens with flocks poorly kept. 

Usually when first affected the bird mopes about with 
a full crop, which if examined will be found to be full 
of water with a very offensive smell. When this is ob- 
served the bird must be carefully caught, the water 
gently squeezed from the crop, and a dropperful of cod 
liver oil and creosote administered. 

If the whole flock is diseased, put ten drops of car- 
bolic acid to a gallon of their drinking-water for two 
mornings. Be very careful what you feed, and watch 
the flock very closely, because if this trouble gets a foot- 
hold the entire flock may die in a short time. After 
having used the carbolic acid, use a tablespoonful of 
tincture of gentian to the gallon of drinking-water three 
times in succession. 

If birds are well cared for this disease need cause 
verv little anxiety, but lack of cleanliness and unsound 
food and impure water invite the disease in its worst 
form. 

GENERAL REMEDIES. 

In addition to the specific remedies already mentioned, 
there are two general ones which art most useful in 
squab raising. 

99 



^ •(€. 



The Feutlier's Practical Squab Book. 

Gentian as a Tonic. — For a tonic, after trying 
everything recommended, I find nothing equal to gen- 
tian. I use the compound extract, giving a tablespoon ful 
to a gallon in the drinking-fountain. During the molt- 
ing season in September, October, and November, I 
use a tonic every Sunday morning, and for the balance 
of the year onl}- when the birds seem to be out of con- 
dition. 

Sweet-Fern Tea. — Whenever it is noticed that the 
birds have looseness of the bowels. I use sweet-fern tea, 
a teacup of the tea to two gallons of water in the drink- 
ing-fountain. The tea is prepared by boiling a good 
double handful of the dried leaves in about twelve gal- 
ions of vv'ater, letting it boil down one-half. Strain 
and put in bottles or jugs and set away for use, out of 
the reach of frost. Sweet fern is botanically known 
as Myrica asplcnifolia. 

LICE. 

There are two kinds of lice which infest pigeons : 
(i) The long variety, which conlines itself to the wings 
and is seldom troublesome; and (2) the small round 
louse, which preys on the head and body of the bird, and, 
if allowed to increase, will deplete the blood and cause 
death. 

These pests breed at so astonishing a rate in warm 
weather that, if they once get a foothold, vigorous meas- 
ures must be promptly used, or all weak or ailing birds 
will be literally eaten up. If a loft becomes infested, 
clean out thoroughly and use kerosene oil freely in nests 
and perches, seeing that the oil saturates all surfaces 
and gets into all cracks and crevices, and that the corners 
are not forgotten. Then at the weekly cleaning scatter 



100 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

powdered lime well saturated with crude carbolic acid 
in the corners of all nests. 

Sawdust should not be used for the bottoms of nests 
and on the floors, as is sometimes suggested, unless it 
be first treated well with carbolic acid, and even then the 
propriety of using it is doubtful. The worst affliction of 
lice the writer's pigeons ever suffered was when he used 
sawdust. The nest-pans fairly swarmed with them. 
When he got rid of them, which required heroic treat- 
ment with kerosene and dusting the birds with Persian 
insect-powder, after thoroughly cleaning the house, he 
never used sawdust again. 

Attention to cleanliness and regular baths for the birds 
are essential in avoiding these pests. Birds that have 
three baths a week, houses well cleaned weekly, carbo- 
lated lime scattered in nests, and tobacco-stems for nests 
will not be troubled with body-lice. 

In buying new stock carefully examine for lice, and 
if any are found dust with Persian insect-powder or 
snuff, keep them separate, and be sure that you have 
killed all lice before placing them with the breeding flock. 

SUMMARY. 

It will pay to go into the pigeon business for squabs 
only provided one gets the right kind of stock and gives 
careful attention and proper management. 

The best breed to use for scjuab raising is straight 
Homers or a cross between them and Dragoons. Suc- 
cessful breeders use Homers almost exclusively, because 
they are the best workers and feeders, and raise larger 
squabs in four weeks' time than any other variety. By 
a cross of straight Homers with Dragoons you get a 
larger squab in four weeks' time than with straight 



lOI 




The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

Dragoons. A pair of straight Dragoons requires five 
weeks to bring squabs to market size, but the cross will 
result in a larger squab which can be put on the market 
in a little over four weeks. 

One large pigeon-house is better and more economi- 
cal than several small ones, but in no case should a house 
be built to accommodate more than 250 pairs. If larger 
numbers are to be kept, more than one house should be 
built. A room 8x10 feet will accommodate fifty pairs 
very comfortably. Tlie fly should be extended thirty- 
two feet if possible. 

Pigeons should be fed twice a day — in the summer- 
time at 6.30 a. m. and 4.30 p. m., in the winter at 7.30 
a. m. and 3 p. m. 

The best kinds of feed to use are cracked corn, red 
wheat, Kafifir corn, millet, peas, hemp, and rice. In the 
morning give wheat, cracked corn, and peas in equal 
parts ; in the afternoon give equal parts of cracked corn, 
peas, Kafifir corn, and millet. The birds should be fed 
in the pen rather than in the fly. 

Water the birds every morning before feeding, using 
nothing except fresh pure water. Always clean out the 
fountain before filling. 

Bathing is very essential to the health of pigeons. 
In summer they should have an opportunity to bathe 
at least every other day. In winter the bath should be 
given only on bright, sunny days. It is essential to 
clean house once every week. After cleaning the nests, 
put powdered carbolated lime in all cracks, corners, and 
damp places. Sprinkle the floor with lime and sprinkle 
a bucket of sand evenly over the lime. 

The author's 425 pairs of pigeons produced in one 
year 4,400 squabs for market. Anyone with good stock 
and giving as srood care and feed ought to do as well. 

T02 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



SOME POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND. 

Look out for lice. 
Beware of bad grain. 
Avoid overcrowded lofts. 
Never frighten your birds. 
Give bath every other day. 
New wheat will cause sprouts. 
Hulled barley is a good feed. 
Wash fountain out once a day. 
The more squabs, the more feed. 
Keep your houses dry and clean. 
Begin small and grow gradually. 
Never feed sour or musty grains. 
Do not worry over small matters. 
The busy birds are the healthiest. 
Rape-seed is a good thing for birds. 
It is difficult to tell the age of birds. 
Clean house every week regularly. 
Always have a regular killing-day. 
All pigeon diseases can be prevented. 
Clean your breeding-pens every week. 
Cholera never appears without a cause. 
Keep your birds working all the time. 
Weed out all birds that do not work. 
Close all doors on the windward side. 
Wlieat screenings are dear at any price. 
Hardy parents produce hardy offspring. 
Peas are the best muscle food for birds. 
Neglected birds cause nothing but loss. 
Keep your birds tame; fright injures them. 
Cholera never breaks out without a cause. 
Place the coops on high ground if possible. 

103 



The Feather's Practical Squa » Book. 

Inbreeding invites disease. Do not inbreed. 

It costs one cent each week to feed a bird. 

Hulled oats are good to use for a variety. 

Don't breed lice ; there is no profit in them. 

Get a supply of sand on hand for winter use. 

Keep the pigeon manure dry. It is valuable. 

Put all diseased birds in a pen by themselves. 

Draughts through the house cause sickness. 

Empty bath-tubs as soon as birds have bathed. 

Watch out for that odd bird in the mating-coop. 

Use plenty of powdered lime and carbolic acid. 

If you have a little bad luck don't get the blues. 

Too much wheat causes looseness of the bowels. 

Young birds are not as profitable as two-year-olds. 

Kill ofif all the runts ; they are not worth saving. 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

Do not pin much faith on the man who knows it all. 

You can always learn something ; no man knows it all. 

Do not feed too much corn during the warm weather. 

Purity and cleanliness are two things to be regarded. 

Watch your birds closely during the molting season. 

Keep the floor of the aviary clean and well sanded. 

If your birds have not molted out right help them 
do it. 

Get your birds and houses in good shape for winter 
work. 

Profit by your own experience, as well as that of 
others. 

A few pairs to begin with will give you some good 
points. 

It does not pay to feed birds that do not produce 
squabs. 



104 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

A squab four weeks old should be in condition to 
market. 

Look out for rats ; they are cute, and will cause much 
trouble. 

Master your birds; your judgment controls your 
success. 

Clear grit and perseverance make a good squab 
breeder. 

Don't leave any cold draughts through your coops 
at night. 

Dampen the grain when feeding any kind of poultry- 
powders. 

Always band your birds, so you can keep a record 
of them. 

Air-slaked lime and carbolic lime are good preventives 
for lice. 

A good squab breeder never learned the business in 
one year. 

Use common sense in your feeding, and save a lot 
of trouble. 

Do not feed the birds outside in the flies ; the feed 
may sour. 

Disease lurks in the dirty drinking-fountains and 
bath-tubs. 

A fussy cock-bird without a mate will cause a lot 
of trouble. 

Always have oyster-shell, grit, and charcoal before 
your birds. 

Pure-bred stock will always give you better squabs 
than scrubs. 

Fifty pairs of birds to each pen, 8xio, is about the 
right thing. 

Catch all birds to be killed before feeding-time in 
the morning. 

105 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

Twenty-five pairs of birds are enough foi the novice 
to start with. 

Buckwheat is another good feed if you can get the 
birds to eat it. 

See that your flies are all cleaned up before the winter 
weather sets in. 

Be regular in all things ; the birds know when it is 
time for a meal. 

It is not costly houses that make success, but the man 
behind the birds. 

Too many breeders use inferior feed and get poor 
squabs in return. 

See that all broken windows are replaced before cold 
weather comes on. 

Know your birds ; it will do much toward your success 
in handling them. 

Keep your feed-troughs inside of the houses twelve 
months of the year. 

Keep all young birds to be saved for breeders in a 
coop by themselves. 

Cholera ! Look out for it. Excessive dampness is the 
cause in most cases. 

Do things on time. Do not let the birds go wrong 
by being neglectful. 

When entering your houses go in quietly. Do nothing 
to startle the birds. 

There are too many who go into the squab business 
and make a failure. 

Do not forget that disease lurks in a filthy drinking- 
fountain or bath-tub. 

The birds crave green food. Try them on a head of 
young, tender lettuce. 

Keep new comers in a pen by themselves until you 
find out what they are. 

1 06 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

Get together enough birds to ship your squabs to the 
big markets. It pays. 

The number of birds you can keep depends on how 
many you can care for. 

Keep your birds working. A self-feeder and a lazy 
keeper make poor birds. 

Keep a good watch-dog, and if you have many out- 
buildings a good rat-dog. 

Keep your flies clean. They should be well sanded 
at least four times a year. 

Do not feed corn exclusively ; give the birds several 
different kinds of grain. 

Never neglect placing a piece of lime the size of a 
hickory-nut in the water. 

Keep drinking-fountains and feeding-vessels and coops 
scrupulously clean always. 

A big squab-breeding plant does not necessarily mean 
a good many acres of land. 

To go into the squab business and be successful re- 
quires a good bit of practice. 

May and June are good months in which to save 
young squabs for breeders. 

Runts are slow breeders, and Duchesse Pigeons are 
not good for squab breeders. 

To go into the squab business and be successful re- 
quires a good bit of patience. 

Most of the diseases that affect pigeons are due to 
the carelessness of the keeper. 

Be regular in your work about the birds. They 
know when feeding-time comes. 

The price of feed should not be considered, when the 
profit is proportionately greater. 

Your biU-of-fare should not be too extensive, but 
give the birds a variety of grain. 

107 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



Watch for barren birds ; they are found in every fly. 
To keep birds of this l<ind is a loss. 

Cure colds in the head. This prevents roup. Two 
drops of camphorated oil is a cure. 

Breeding squabs for market is about the most in- 
dependent occupation one can take up. 

Keep tobacco-stems and a little hay by your birds at 
all times, so they can build their nests. 

Have all birds banded. In this way you will make no 
mistakes, and know what you are doing. 

Never allow a stray cock-bird in the house ; it will 
cause much damage if allowed to remain. 

Heavy storms are hard on birds. Some breeders keep 
them inside during very severe weather. 

Go through your houses every day, watch your birds 
carefully and see if everything is all right. 

Keep the food from snow and dirt, and leave no food 
exposed after the birds have finished eating. 

Keep your birds confined in a fly. They will do 
better work than when allowed their liberty. 

Mate your best workers. There are always some lazy 
birds; to mate these is showing poor judgment. 

Feed only what the birds will eat up clean. To feed 
more is a loss to both the bird and its keeper. 

For lump on the wing, let Nature take its course. If 
vou try to effect a cure, you will have a stiff wing. 

Look out for year grit-boxes. See that the birds 
have a full supply of oyster-shells, salt, and charcoal. 

Put six drops diluted carbolic acid two or three times 
during the summer in the fountains to clean them out. 

Remember that odd birds are not profitable. Dispose 
of such stock or buy whichever sex are lacking. 

One person should be able to care for one thousand 
pairs of birds, with some one to assist on killing-days. 

I08 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 

When you buy birds, if you are a novice, always take 
some one with you who knows something about them. 

Look out for the birds that rattle in the throat. Cure 
this with two drops of camphorated oil up each nostril. 

For sniffles or cold in head, two drops camphorated 
oil injected in nose. Sponge well before you drop 
the oil. 

Get clear of any rats that might be aroimd your 
premises. The birds will not do good work if rats are 
around. 

Do not use any grain that is not sound and sweet ; 
musty grain has thrown many a man down in the squab 
business. 

When you buy birds, place in a separate coop and 
be sure they are mated before placing them in regular 
quarters. 

Give the birds their bath at least twice each week, 
and do not allow the water to stand alter feeding-time 
at night. 

The Homer makes the best squab breeder. The 
Dragoon crossed with the Homer also makes a good 
breeder. 

I am learning something every day about the business, 
f*^ has taken years of labor to accomplish what I have 
attained. 

Failures in the pigeon business are due mostly to 
starting with poor stock, and poor judgment behind 
the birds. 

Mice are expensive things in a pigeon-house. They 
nest near the birds, causing chilled eggs and killing 
your squabs. 

When you find a bird going light, pull tail and first 
two flight-feathers. This will start the bird on the road 
to recover v. 



109 



1 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



The feed question is one that many fail on. Good 
feeding is absolutely necessary in the raising of squabs 
for market. • 

Pigeon-houses should be of wood and have water- 
tight roofs. Floors should be raised from the ground 
about lo inches. 

Do not expect the birds to do it all. A great deal of 
labor and common sense are required to make the squab 
business a success. 

Twenty-five drops of tincture of nux vomica in one 
quart of water makes a good tonic ; given once a week 
will not hurt them. 

Look out for scrappers. Take them from the house 
at once, even if mated. They will cause trouble and 
loss if allowed to remain. 

September and October are two hard months on birds 
that are in their molt, and during these months you 
must not expect many squabs. 

Watch your birds for canker. When found, scrape 
with a match, and put a little sulphur down the throat 
every day, and a cure will result. 

If you are going to build a house, have it at least 
twelve inches from the ground, so as to allow a cat or 
rat-dog room to go under without trouble. 

Squab raising for market and raising birds to fly is 
a separate business. Do one or the other ; you can not 
succeed in making a combination of the two. 

Never let your young birds grow up with the old 
ones. Always take the young birds from the old ones 
as soon as you can and put them in a pen by themselves. 

Common pigeons are no good. Do not have them on 
your place. I never knew a squab breeder who had 
common pigeons and Homers mixed to have any success. 



no 



The Feather's Practical Squab Book. 



LIse common sense in all yonr methods. Have a 
system and follow it faithfully until you learn better. 
It is not how much you read, but how well you digest it. 

A spray-pump is just the thing to whitewash with. 
Strain the whitewash first, so as not to clog up the 
pump. All cracks and crevices should receive an extra 
squirt. 

Beginners should read carefully the experience of 
tliose who are at the top. They will then, by carefully 
following, avoid many hard knocks that come to the 
know-it-alls. 

It is interesting to watch young birds mate. If you 
are a close observer, you will notice that there is much 
human nature in their actions, they acting much as a 
pair of lovers of the human race. 

There is only one way to feed market birds, and 
that is feed all they will eat up clean, and feed the best. 
Remember that water — fresh water — is what the birds 
must have before them at all times. 

P^or every pair of birds you wish to house it will cost 
$i.oo to build the house; thus, for twenty-five pairs of 
birds it will cost $25.00 for the house. A house 40 
feet long and 12 feet wide will accommodate 250 pairs 
of birds and will cost $250.00. 

After feeding the birds morning and evening don't 
disturb them. Do not permit visitors in the feeding- 
pen ; it makes the birds wild and sometimes they injure 
themselves in crowding the exit-hole at such time. Al- 
ways keep them as tame as you can ; enter the coop 
when necessary as quietly as possible. 

How is it you do not get $3.75 per dozen for your 
squabs ? Because you do not know how to raise eight- 
pound birds. If you want success in the squab business 



1 



The Featlier's Practical Squab Book. 



have nothing- but the best of breeders. Weed out all 
birds that do not pay their feed-bill. Take out that 
extra cock-bird that races around in the coop. He is 
doing you damage every day. See if y^u have any ex- 
tra hen-bird in your coop ; if you have remember that 
she is capable of doing as much mischief as an extra 
cock-bird. 




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